Easy Kid-Friendly Orange Chicken

My daughter, Rey, asks for orange or sesame chicken at least once a week but I always feel a pang of mom guilt when I feed her the takeout version. So I developed this air fryer version that eliminates the deep-frying and most of the granulated sugar but without sacrificing the delicious, crispy and orange-gooey flavors of orange chicken. Rey said it’s the best chicken she’s ever had. Kid’s got good taste. Enjoy!

key ingredients:

Chicken Marinade 

• boneless skinless chicken thighs: I prefer chicken thighs for this recipe because they stay more moist when air fried. I know some people prefer chicken breast and it’s a great substitute. I recommend adjusting the air fryer temperature to 375°F and you may need to decrease the time by about 2-3 minutes. Internal temperature of the chicken breast should reach 155-150°F.
• Shaoxing Wine: This rice wine is a key ingredient in Chinese cuisine.  You can find this at most Asian grocery markets. If not, you can always purchase it on Amazon. Substitutes: Sake, Sherry, Mirin
• soy sauce 
• ginger 
• fine sea salt 
• black pepper 

Sauce 

• zest and juice of 1 large naval orange  
• honey: I opted for more honey in place of granulated sugar to make this recipe a bit more kid and mom-friendly. I think this orange sauce recipe could get away without any granulated sugar in this sauce. I’ll have to try it next time!
• brown sugar 
• granulated sugar 
• soy sauce 
• Shaoxing wine 
• apple cider vinegar 
• corn starch slurry
• garlic
• ginger

Chicken Dredge 

• eggs 
• all-purpose flour 
• corn starch: you can substitute with potato starch. I’ve tried both and I found the corn starch to be a better option for a crispier texture.
• Avocado Oil Spray: This is where I don’t want to recommend a substitute. A good quality avocado oil spray will make such a difference. The spray bottle label should say “Pure Avocado Oil.” Please do not use the bottles that are labeled non-stick spray!

key steps

1. Marinate Chicken: In a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, ginger, salt, black pepper, and Shaoxing wine and whisk together. Add the chicken to the marinade and store in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes. If you can marinate it overnight, even better! 
2. Orange Sauce:  In a medium saucepan, add the orange juice, orange zest, honey, brown sugar, granulated sugar, soy sauce, water, apple cider vinegar and Shaoxing wine. Whisk all the ingredients together and bring to a boil over high heat.  When the sauce starts boiling, reduce to low heat and let the sauce simmer for about 8 minutes. Then add the cornstarch slurry and whisk it into the sauce for an additional minute. Then immediately add the grated garlic and ginger and let the sauce steep for another minute. When the sauce is a thick gooey consistency, the sauce is ready. TIP: Make sure your heat setting is on low so that the sauce doesn’t burn. Also, whisk the sauce every 2 minutes as well.
3. Dredge the Chicken: In a medium bowl, mix the corn starch and all-purpose flour together. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Then dredge the chicken in the flour starch mixture, then egg and do a final dredge back in the flour starch mixture. Transfer to a wire rack or baking sheet.
4. Air Fry Chicken: Generously spray the tops of the dredged chicken with avocado oil. Then spray the basket liner of the air fryer. Transfer the chicken with the sprayed side down. Then spray the tops of the chicken as well. You want to spray enough so that you don’t see any dry white parts of the flour starch on the chicken. This will ensure that all parts of each piece of chicken will have a crispy texture. In my air fryer, I air fried the chicken for 8 minutes on each side at 400°F. Then transfer the cooked chicken to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. TIPS: After the first 8 minutes, flip the chicken and give it one more spray on top. Then air fry for another 8 minutes. Each air fryer is different so adjust your time accordingly! You will also need to air fry the chicken in batches. It took me about 3 batches to cook all the chicken.
5. Add the Orange Sauce: In a large bowl, add the orange sauce and air fried chicken and mix well until each piece of chicken is coated well with the orange sauce. Serve with a side of rice and/or veggies. Enjoy!

what if I don’t have an air fryer?

Instead of deep frying, you can do a shallow fry which requires less oil and makes less mess! Depending on the size of your frying pan or wok, I recommend using about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of avocado oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken until golden and crispy on each side. This should take you about 3-4 minutes on each side.