Orange Chicken with Fried Rice

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but we no longer need to order out for orange chicken. Now, I have a very good crockpot orange chicken recipe (my mom absolutely loves it--she says it's even better the second day) but for real orange chicken, you need it breaded and fried (this coming from a girl who generally prefers her chicken baked or grilled). I've made more than a few variations of it since orange chicken is something Eric and I both love; we almost always order it when we get Chinese. Eric has already perfected fried rice--honestly, I'd rather have his fried rice than a restaurant's fried rice--and I figured out the perfect breading a while ago. So I've been working on the sauce. Soon as Eric tasted it, he told me I nailed it. He also ate leftovers for his lunch and dinner the next day (which is a big deal because he isn't big into leftovers).

Ingredients:
Chicken
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying

Orange Sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 cup orange marmalade 
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Eric's Fried Rice

Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional)

Directions:
Prepare Fried Rice and Toasted Sesame Seeds first.

Chicken
Place the cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and combine. In a second shallow dish, beat the eggs. In a third shallow dish, pour panko breadcrumbs. Dredge the chicken pieces in the cornstarch, dip in egg, then coat in panko.

Heat oil over medium-high heat. In batches, cook chicken until the breading is a golden brown and the meat is cooked all the way through. Place chicken on a paper towel-lined plate.

Orange Sauce
In a large saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, marmalade, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Over medium heat, bring to a boil.

In a small bowl or glass, dissolve 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water. Slowly pour into sauce. Stir until sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds (you don't have to do the sesame seeds, but Eric and I have discovered that they make everything better). Serve with fried rice.

Arya sulking because she was exiled from the kitchen while we cooked.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken Patties
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken 
Parmesan Chicken Casserole 
Pizza Inspired Chicken  

Toasted Sesame Seeds

Last summer Eric and went to a Hibachi grill with a friend in Grand Rapids. I can't remember the name of the restaurant to save my life, but the food was unforgettable. The chef sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on everything and it just enlivened the flavor of the chicken, the veggies, and the shrimp.

Over the last six months or so, Eric will randomly comment on how good sesame seeds are. So a put a small jar of them in his Christmas stocking this past holiday. In truth, I was just as excited to eat them. Even though I haven't perfected my sesame chicken recipe yet, I still wanted to share how toasted sesame seeds.

Ingredients:
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the seeds out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 5 to 10 minutes or until the seeds are a light golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Recipes:
Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds