It is the season of oranges! I can see them everywhere right now and they are just so delicious and beautiful. I am a big fan of oranges. One of my favorite things to do is to chew on some fresh oranges in the winter sun. Beautiful!
In Delhi, we get a lot of the kinnow variety of orange. Also known as Mandarin, this orange is bright, softer, super sweet and very juicy. I have used freshly squeezed kinnow juice in this recipe. You can use any variety available locally near you.
This orange chicken is one of my favorites. Super simple to make and very aromatic. The combination of brown sugar and orange juice makes for a sticky syrup, which adds a perfect glaze as well as taste to the orange chicken recipe. The chicken is shallow fried here. You can deep fry it as well if you want an extra crispy version.
Here’s a look at the ingredients and procedure.
Preparation time – 20 minutes
Cook time – 30-40 minutes
Serves – 2-3 people
Ingredients
For marination:
- Boneless chicken thighs cut into equal pieces, 500 g (make sure they have been patted dry)
- Fresh ginger paste, 1.5 tsp
- Fresh garlic paste, 1.5 tsp
- Sesame oil, 1 tsp
- Dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp
- Cornflour, 30g
- Salt to taste
For the recipe:
- Vegetable oil, 4 tbsp
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped
- 3 medium onions, finely chopped
- Brown sugar, 1 tsp
- Crushed garlic, 1 tsp
- Crushed ginger, 1 tsp
- 1 medium capsicum, cut in cubes
- Black pepper powder, 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- 150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- Chopped spring onion greens for garnish
- Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Directions
- Mix the boneless chicken thighs with ginger paste, garlic paste, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, cornflour, and salt. Marinate this for 20 minutes.
- Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok. Shallow fry the marinated chicken in batches, till they are crispy from all sides. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in another wok. Add the chopped green chilies, followed by the chopped onions. Saute for a minute.
- Add the brown sugar and mix well. Saute for another two minutes till onions turn translucent.
- Add the ginger and garlic and stir. Cook this till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic disappears.
- Once the onions merge well with the ginger and garlic, add the chopped capsicum. Cook this for another minute.
- Season with salt and black pepper powder. Stir well.
- Pour in the freshly squeezed orange juice. Cook till it reduces by half.
- Wait for the orange juice to turn into a sticky and thick sauce. Add the fried chicken to the mixture.
- Gently mix the fried chicken with the rest of the ingredients.
- Drizzle in some dark soy sauce and stir well till the color changes to a darker version of the original.
- Take the wok off from heat.
- Garnish with spring onion greens, sesame seeds, and orange zest.
- Serve hot with plain rice or fried rice. Enjoy!
I hope you do try this simple, mouth-watering recipe.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me with a comment or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.
Happy cooking!
