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A quick, easy, light and tasty Chinese orange chicken dish that is way better than takeout!
The Chinese or lunar New Year is quickly approaching and I have been thinking about Chinese cuisine a lot. The word for oranges in Chinese is similar to the word for wealth and thus oranges are considered lucky for the New Year, which is great since orange chicken is one of my favourite dishes. Normally takeout orange chicken is battered and fried in a lot of oil but I prefer this lighter and healthier version where the chicken is simply sauteed and then tossed in a super tasty orange sauce! One of the best things about this recipe is that it takes less time to make than it takes to steam the rice, less than 20 minutes!
So nice and light, healthy and tasty!
Serve over steamed rice, quino or noodles and toss with some steamed vegetables like broccoli, peppers, peas, etc for a complete meal.
20 Minute Light Orange Chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4
A quick, easy, light and tasty Chinese orange chicken dish that is way better than takeout!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chill sauce such as sambal oelek or sriracha
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup green onion, sliced (optional)
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side.
- Add the mixture of the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chill sauce, garlic, ginger and the mixture of the water and the corn starch, toss to coat and cook until the sauce thickens, about a minute.
- Remove from heat and serve garnished with sliced green onions.
Option: Replace some or all of the honey with orange marmalade.
Option: Add some vegetables to the mix such as broccoli, peas, peppers, etc.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 288, Fat 7g (Saturated 1g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 100mg, Sodium 874mg, Carbs 19g (Fiber 0.5g, Sugars 15g), Protein 34g
Nutrition by: 
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Holly says Any chance of seeing a Mongolian Beef recipe this next week?
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- Jennifer says
omg that looks so yummy! 😀
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- Claudia says
Saving this – much prefer this version than the battered ones – cannot even taste the orange in the chicken sometimes!
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- Jess @ Sugar High says
Love that you kept it simple and healthy by not frying. Looks delicious!
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- Becki's Whole Life says
I love the orange flavor with the spicy peppers. This looks wonderful and a great option for Chinese New Year!
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- Joy says
The dish looks great.
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- Drifter says
Any eggplant recipe to share?
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- Shohag B. says
i luv this item ! thanks :X
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- Joanne says
I love that this has fresh orange juice in it and is NOT deep fried! This is the perfect way to get your Chinese food fix without feeling like you've been run over by a truck.
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- NotesFromAbroad says
I miss good Chinese food , I will definitely try this recipe as soon as I start cooking again.
It is too hot to cook at this time 🙂
poor me lol
besitos, CSee AlsoBrazilian Chicken StroganoffNapa Chicken Salad with Sesame DressingChicken Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich)Naan Recipe without Yogurt (Vegan)Reply
- Momographica says
This looks fantastic! I tried duck with orange before but never chicken. Thank you for the yummy recipe!
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- Anonymous says
do you ever use tahini? when your recipe calls for both honey and sesame oil, perhaps this is a spot for it.
carole s.Reply
- Kathleen Richardson says
Love chicken. Love orange. Good blog entry, Kevin, and seeing it makes me want to start cooking right now!
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- India's no.1 blog says
Yummy yummy yummy 🙂
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- Amy Tsung says
Wow, that looks so good!
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- almostveg says
looks great – am curious to know why you soaked the chilies. In India we soak them before grinding to a paste, but haven't seen it used in this kind of application.
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- LAURA says
Ciao, che bello e particolare il tuo blog, mi piace!!!
Se ti fa piacere passa a trovarmi.
A presto.Reply
- wheatgerm says
hmmm that looks tasty
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- cooking lady says
Wow this looks really good. And the photo is just fantastic
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- Ferdinand says
Looks delicious and healty
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- Anonymous says
5 minute prep? You're fast!
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- Kevin says
Anonymous: I tend to walk into the kitchen, turn the stove on, place the oil in the pan and then I start cut the chicken, place it in the pan and while it cooks I move onto the garlic, onions, etc.
almostveg: I just wanted to soften them up a bit.
Anonymous: Using tahini in a dish likes this is an interesting idea. I had not thought about using tahini like that.
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- Anonymous says
Hi, Kevin! tahini is common here in greece, whereas sesame oil's an expensive import. so i've often used the oil the settles on top of the seed pulp in a jar of tahini rather than spend for 'sesame oil'.
carole s.Reply
- Liz says
Everything seems so delicious!
I'll follow your adventures 😉Reply
- Karina says
This looks amazing and so much better than the Orange Chicken I usually order. 🙂
Thanks for posting this, love your recipes!Reply
- Barracuda says See AlsoThe Best Salmon Croquettes
That looks delitions! Thank you for posting.
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- Justin Cullen says
It looks absolutely delicious!!!
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- Fruit Carving says
Very lovely presentation, looks delicious! I will try this recipe.
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- Nicole says
This was delicious!
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- Anonymous says
Looks delicious , and I agree prefer unbattered as well !
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- Anonymous says
This was great! Much better than takeout. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely make it again.
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- Jeanette says
Love your lightened up version of orange chicken Kevin – yes oranges are good luck for Chinese New Year! The guy at our local Asian grocery store always has special oranges for the New Year.
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- vanillasugarblog says
Kevin I just saw a recipe for meyer lemon fried chicken!
Doesn't that sound good? Where did I see it? I can't remember, but I saved it for my friday link roundup.Reply
- kevin says
vanillasugarblog: That does sound good!
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- Atroub says
I'm guessing the zest is for garnish instead of in the sauce? Just premade the sauce (using tangerines since that's what I have on hand) & all I can say is WOW, delicious! Thank you for this recipe, it's a keeper!
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- kevin says
Atroub: I place finely grated zest in the sauce and then some larger pieces of zest go on for garnish.
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- Tieghan says
Orange chicken is always so good. Your version could not look better! I cannot wait to give it a try! 🙂
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- avidalector says
I'm wondering if the "3 Tablespoons of soy sauce" is meant to be "3 TEAspoons"? I made this for dinner tonight and found the sauce to be very dark in color and the orange flavor to be mildly overpowered. Regardless, I found it to be delicious.
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- kevin says
avidalector: 3 tablespoons of soy sauce is correct. Did you use a dark soy sauce or a regular one. There are dark and light soy sauces in Chinese cuisine and the dark soy sauce would give you a darker sauce.
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- What a Dish! says
Made this for dinner tonight and really enjoyed. I also enjoyed how easy this was! During the day I pre-cut the chicken, and then made the sauce and stuck it in the fridge. When dinner time came, it was SO easy to cook the chicken and throw the sauce in. It also thickened perfectly with the cornstarch. I added about a TBS more OJ.
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- kevin says
What a Dish!: I am glad that you enjoyed it! Preparing everything ahead of time is a great idea to make things even quicker at meal time!
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- Lacey says
Wow oh wow, this orange chicken was Awesome, it ROCKS!!!! Thanks, Kevin.
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- Phuong Pham says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was super delicious. The fact that it is healthy makes it the best orange chicken ever. It will be our staple from now on. Thanks so much!
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- Gillyflower says
I thought it was awful. It was far too sweet and I didn't use the amount stated. I finally had to put in some bitter marmalade to rectify it. If it's better than a takeout, it doesn't say much for your restaurent.
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- Anonymous says
Delicious.
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- kevin says
Gillyflower: This should not have been super sweet. The sweetness from the honey should have balanced nicely with the saltiness from the soy sauce and the tartness from the rice vinegar so that it becomes more of an undertone rather than dominant. Did you use fresh orange juice or sweetened bottled orange juice? Did you use regular soy sauce or low sodium? Did you use plain rice vinegar or the sweetened rice vinegar that is used for sushi rice?
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- tammy says
why does this chicken have to be cut up in small pieces. Can't I make it with chicken breasts and thighs? Thank you.
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- kevin says
tammy: Generally stir-frys use small pieces of meat but you could certainly do a full chicken breast or thigh!
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- Keri Butler says
I made this last night with boneless/skinless chicken thighs & thought it was really good! I thought it was the perfect balance of sweet & spicy, though I did add a touch more sriracha & some red pepper flakes. Will def be making again, thanks!
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- kevin says
Keri Butler: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I like to add extra sriracha as well! 🙂
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- Kelly Harrison says
Love this recipe!! It is so simple and delicious! Thank you
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- Sally says
This was EXCELLENT! So much healthier than the breaded and fried version and so simple for a weeknight. I will be trying this same method with other oriental sauce creations. Thanks!
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- Shelly says
Made this for dinner tonight. I added orange bell pepper and sugar snap peas, and served over brown rice. Everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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- Anonymous says
Made this a couple times now. Totally awesome!! So easy and wonderful flavor!!
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- Sarah K says
This obviously is a wonderful dish! My husband very much dislikes chicken and insisted your orange chicken recipe to be a regular weeknight meal. Next time I make it I think I'll add some cashews for some crunch and orange segments for added juice.
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- kevin says
Sarah K: I'm glad you like it! The addition of cashews and orange segments would be amazing!
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- Odette says
Is the zest added to the orange juice mixture or is it used as a garnish. Sorry, I haven’t seen the application in the recipe.
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