One of my favourite dishes from Chinese takeaways, which always remind me of spicy fritters. It consists of small pieces of chicken, dipped in batter and deep-fried until crispy. They are then coated in a heavenly hot, sweet and citrusy orange sauce and served with rice—or simply enjoyed on their own. It is utterly irresistible. Since we decided to be a little more careful about what we eat, I decided to make a slightly different and healthier version of this dish. I don’t coat the chicken in batter; instead, I stir-fry it in a wok with very little oil. In short, “stir-fried” because nobody needs deep-frying when a dish can be this delicious with just three tablespoons of oil. This meal can be ready in half an hour. Enjoy it with rice and forget about takeaway!
Stir-Fried Orange Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 8 chicken thighs skinless and boneless, cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dry sherry
- 1 egg white
- ½ Tbsp cornflour cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp sunflower oil
For the sauce
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp dry sherry
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1 tsp fresh ginger finely chopped or grated
- 3 tsp cornflour cornstarch
- Spring onions and fresh hot chillies for garnish
Instructions
- Place the pieces of chicken in a bowl. Add the soy sauce and sherry. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg white with a fork. Add the cornflour and mix well. Pour the mixture over the chicken and stir well to coat. Leave the chicken to marinate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and place over high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until it starts to thicken slightly, about 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the sunflower oil. Add half of the chicken and stir-fry, stirring continuously (don’t worry if it looks a little messy), until the chicken starts to brown slightly, but does not necessarily need to be fully cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken until it is also lightly browned.
- Return all the cooked chicken to the wok. Pour over the sauce and let everything bubble together for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken beautifully.
- Serve the chicken immediately, garnished with spring onions and fresh hot chillies.
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