Mandarin Orange Chicken |Cooking With Amanda

There are so many great recipes for making orange chicken at home. We've tried a bunch and love them all, but this one is our new favorite – with pieces of mandarin orange right in the recipe to kick up that orange flavor even more.

Don't look at the ingredient list and freak out at all, it comes together a lot quicker that you think. And most Asian-inspired recipes do have a few ingredients to get through, which is why they taste so darn good.

Also… there is going to be frying involved. Don't freak about that either, the only thing I'd recommend is a thermometer to get the oil to the right temperature, but other than that all you need is a deep pot and a few cups of oil.

This Mandarin Orange Chicken recipe is a little different than most that I've seen. The marinade has flour and cornstarch in it – weird to have either of those in a marinade – but there's a reason.

You know that soft, but crispy coating that your favorite Chinese take-out chicken has? Like General Tso's chicken or sesame chicken? It's more than a floured piece of chicken that's fried. It's different.

This key to this recipe is a coating on the chicken that's so ridiculously good you might never order take out again.

We've definitely mastered our favorite stir-fry sauce that we literally put on everything. Chicken, steak, or any vegetable (even Brussels sprouts!) that we want to get the boys to eat – this sauce goes on.

But I still needed to master my favorite orange chicken dinner, and of course put my own twist on it, and I'm pretty sure I nailed it with this Mandarin Orange Chicken Recipe.

All you need to do is make up a quick marinade for the chicken and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Then you can start to fry.

After the chicken is fried you're going to toss it all together with the mandarin oranges and a quick orange sauce that you can make while the chicken is marinating…

An then you're going to eat.

I'm telling you this mandarin orange chicken is so good you'll be making it over and over again!

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Mandarin Orange Chicken Recipe

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Ingredients

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch cubes

For the Marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the Mandarin Orange Sauce:

1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons sriracha chili sauce
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sherry
1/4 cup cornstarch

For Preparation and Serving:

canola oil, or vegetable oil, for frying
1 11 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
chopped scallions and sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

Add all the ingredients for the marinade to a large bowl and whisk to combine the ingredients. Add the cubed chicken and toss to coat. Let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes or up to an hour.
Get a large pot heating up with oil over medium heat. Whatever size pot you use, only fill the pot halfway up so the oil doesn't boil over. Clip your thermometer to the side of the pot and let it heat up until it reaches 375 degrees.
While the chicken is marinating and the oil is heating up, you can get the sauce together by adding the sesame oil to a medium pot. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch, stir and bring to a boil.
Mix the cornstarch together in a small dish with 3 tablespoons of water, then slowly pour into the sauce while whisking. Bring to a boil once again then turn the heat off, cover and set aside.
When your oil reaches about 375 degrees you can start frying the chicken. Take the chicken out of the marinade a few pieces at a time and carefully add them to the oil. Fry for 5-6 minutes, then remove to a paper towel lined plate and start your next batch of chicken.
Once the chicken is all fried, add it to a large bowl along with the mandarin oranges.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and oranges and toss to coat.
Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds and serve immediately.