Orange Chicken

I live in a house full of picky eaters. Choosing a meal is a constant struggle. As long as we have fruit and rice, my little one is a happy camper but she has always been a fan of chicken.

I remember the convenience of places like Panda Express. I would run inside and get an order of orange chicken with white rice and chow mein on a lunch break from work. On the occasion that have a little extra spare time, I make my own version of orange chicken, and steam some plain white rice to go with it.

This recipe hits the spot for a nice weekday surprise for everyone!

Orange Chicken

• 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast ; diced into 1 inch cubes

• 7.2 oz of Melly Belly Flour Blend

• 1/2 cup of cornstarch

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1 egg

• 1 1/4 cups of water

• Canola oil for frying (enough to fill one inch of a frying pan)

For the sauce:

• The zest and juice of 2 large oranges

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 2 tbsp of gluten free soy sauce

• 1/4 cup of rice vinegar

• 2 cloves of garlic; minced

• 1 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 tbsp water

In a gallon bag, mix together your flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Prep your frying pan with your oil and set it to medium while you prepare the rest. In a bowl, whisk together your water and egg. It will be watery looking but that's ok.

Take your diced chicken and place it in your egg mixture. Once well soaked, take out the chicken chunks and then place them in the flour mixture bag. Close it up and shake it around so that all your chicken pieces are nicely coated.

Once you're ready, take half the chicken (shake off the flour a bit) and slowly and carefully drop it into the hot oil. You will do this twice. Cook it until it reaches a nice golden crispy brown and when it is cooked throughly (165 degrees for chicken). When it's ready, take out and drain your chicken and place it in a large bowl lined with paper towels so it soaks up some of the oil. Repeat this process until all of your chicken is cooked.

Prepare your glaze: You can choose to do this before or right after your chicken is cooked. In a small sauce pan, place your garlic, brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest, and orange juice. Heat on medium until it starts to boil slightly while stirring occasionally. In a small cup, mix together your cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp of water) and immediately pour into the sauce pan once it reaches that slow boil. Stir constantly for about a minute. Your sauce will thicken and stick to your spoon. At this point you are ready!

Take the paper towels out from under the fried chicken so that you have your chicken ready in a bowl for the sauce mixture. Pour your glaze over your chicken and carefully toss it all together. Serve immediately with veggies, rice, or anything else you prefer. I like to also add sesame seeds on top and finely diced kumquats.

Enjoy!