Amazing 20-Minute Crispy Orange Chicken Recipe (Watch Out Trader Joe's) by Donna John


Amazing 20-Minute Crispy Orange Chicken Recipe (Watch Out Trader Joe's)

I like to keep a bag of Trader Joe's mandarin orange chicken in the freezer for busy nights. But being someone who likes to cook things from scratch I thought, how hard could it be to make something similar from fresh ingredients? Not hard at all! Enter this 20-minute crispy orange chicken that tastes like Trader Joe's! 

This easy fried orange chicken recipe is crispy, juicy and has a sweet and flavorful sauce. You cook the chicken, heat up the sauce ingredients together and combine the two. This Asian recipe is on the table in about 20 minutes.

Chicken breasts are cut into bite-sized pieces and dredged in cornstarch and flour before being fried in a skillet until golden and crispy. The sweet and tangy orange sauce is made with orange juice, sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, ground ginger and orange zest. The sauce is thickened with a little cornstarch. The crispy chicken pieces are coated in the sauce and serve. So easy and tasty! 

This orange chicken makes a quick and easy dinner served with your favorite side dishes.

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Cuisine: Asian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (you could use boneless chicken thighs)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • vegetable oil, for frying

Orange Sauce

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Recipe Notes

  • You could add in some chopped onion, red pepper or your favorite vegetables.
  • Make sure the oil is hot before frying the chicken.

Here's how to make it: 

  1. Put the chicken pieces into a bowl. Add the egg and mix well to coat. Add the cornstarch and flour. Mix well to coat. 
  2. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a skillet over medium heat (about 350 degrees F). Fry the chicken in batches until cooked through and golden brown. Remove to a paper towel.
  3. To make the orange sauce, combine the orange juice, sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, ground ginger and orange zest in a saucepot. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. When it boils, mix together the cornstarch and water and pour into the sauce to thicken. 
  4. Put the chicken into a serving dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories: 595

Total Fat: 7.8g

Saturated Fat: 0.1g

Cholesterol: 191mg

Sodium: 741mg

Total Carbohydrate: 61.1g

Dietary Fiber: 0.8g

Total Sugars: 41g

Protein: 65.8g

Vitamin D: 0mcg

Calcium: 21mg

Iron: 3mg

Potassium: 1291mg

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. This recipe has been analyzed by VeryWellFit. However, any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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Donna John
Great recipe! Confession: I still keep a bag of Trader Joe's mandarin orange chicken in the freezer. It's good! But there's something about making it from scratch. :-) Hope everyone enjoys the recipe.
Elisa Schmitz
OMG, we love TJ's orange chicken. And I love that you recreated it on your own. Trying this recipe!

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