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Your family will go wild for this Baked Orange Chicken Recipe. The flavors are bright and delicious and it's a tad bit healthier than takeout since there's no deep frying involved!
The ingredients for this recipe are pretty basic. You might need to pick up a few things at the market, but I promise that all of these elements are necessary to make this dish perfect. (Okay, maybe you could skip the sesame seeds if you really have to.)
We use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce. It's a fermented soy sauce, but there is no gluten involved since it's ONLY soy and no wheat in the processing. You could use soy sauce or Bragg's Aminos if you'd rather. The flavors will turn out about the same. I buy my Aminos online at Thrive Market.
You could also opt to use fresh ginger. I couldn't get to my favorite produce market this week so I went with pre-processed ginger. It worked great for me.
Finally, you might consider substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts. The breasts work great, but if you have thighs on hand just use those instead. They'll turn out slightly more tender than the breast chunks. As always, make sure to test the internal temperature of the chicken to check for doneness. You can't count on how the outside looks to make sure that you're safe.
This meal is perfect for your weekly meal plan, many of the ingredients you already have on hand so it makes an inexpensive meal for the family.
I set up an assembly line to make things work smoothly from cutting board to baking sheet.
You'll dip the chicken in the egg before coating with panko bread crumbs. To make gluten free, use gluten free bread crumbs.
The baking sheet should be lined with parchment paper or a baking liner for best results.
Here is the step by step instructions for making this Baked Orange Chicken Recipe:
- 1-1/2 pounds chicken breast or chicken thighs
- 1 egg
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 teaspoons ginger, minced (we like our spicy so we do 2, but you can use 1 tsp if you like it milder)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup cold water
- sesame seeds, optional
- green onions, optional
- Heat oven to 400 degrees and line your baking sheet.
- Cut your chicken into 1 inch cubes.
- In a small bowl, gently whisk the egg until the yolk is integrated.
- Place the panko crumbs in a separate bowl.
- Dip a piece of chicken into the egg. Coat with egg and then remove from the egg bowl. Allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl.
- Move the egg-bathed chicken into the crumbs. Stir gently to coat and shake any excess crumbs into the bowl.
- Place the chicken cube onto the baking sheet and repeat until all the chicken is coated.
- Bake the chicken at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. The crunchy outer crust will be light golden brown.
- While the chicken is baking, combine pepper flakes, orange juice, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in a small sauce pan. Stir over medium high heat until it just comes to a gentle boil.
- In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and water. Stir very well until no lumps remain.
- Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until sauce thickens. Remove from the heat before this can come to a boil.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, coat it with the orange sauce and serve over rice. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
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