If you're craving Chinese takeout, skip it and make this Crispy Orange Marmalade Chicken at home instead. It's so easy to make in under 30 minutes and tastes amazing. Crispy battered chicken bites are tossed into the most incredible sticky sauce with fresh orange juice and orange marmalade.
I could NOT believe how delicious this chicken turned out. Everything about it was perfect from the crispy chicken bites to the sticky sweet and spicy sauce.
You're going to want to try this one! I cooked a cup of rice with 2 cups of water in my rice cooker before starting the orange chicken, so I'd have a full meal for the family.
For more of my favorite Asian recipes, check out this Avocado Cucumber Salad, Asian Turkey Meatballs, Asian Dumplings, and Salmon Lettuce Wraps.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Better than Take Out. Make it at home for a much fresher meal!
- Quick and Easy to Make. Even if cooking Chinese food isn't a norm for you, I promise this dish is really simple to execute. Plus, it takes less than 30 minutes!
- Budget Friendly. Have you ordered take out lately? The prices are crazy high. Make it at home instead and save some cash.
- Big on Flavor. My entire family was gobbling this down..even the kids! The flavors in the sauce are so yummy with a bit of sweet and spicy, and it sticks onto the chicken so well.
For more 30 minute Chicken dinners, try this Chicken Couscous, White Chicken Chili, Chicken Broccoli Pasta and Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken.
Ingredients:
Chicken Breast: I like all white meat for this recipe. I'm one of the those "the chicken tastes too much like chicken" type of people and super picky. Smart Chicken is always my favorite brand because it's super clean and trimmed right out of the package.
Orange Juice: You don't need a whole lot of juice for this recipe, only the juice from 1 orange. I recommend juicing it yourself versus using orange juice from the fridge for a fresher taste.
Orange Marmalade: Any brand should be fine for this recipe. I grabbed Smuckers and it was inexpensive and tasted delicious.
Vegetable Oil: A must for it's high burning point and ability to get the chicken really crisp.
*Find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- Chicken breast can be swapped out for chicken thighs.
- If you don't have any fresh oranges, you can use bottled or boxed orange juice instead.
- The rice vinegar can be swapped out with apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- I don't recommend using another oil other than vegetable oil for this recipe. Canola Oil would be a second choice, but it does have a lower burning point than vegetable oil. You may need to empty out any burnt Canola oil and add more back in for the second batch of chicken. I didn't need to swap it out with the vegetable oil.
If you love saucy chicken, try these Hot Honey Chicken Tenders, Pulled BBQ Chicken, Boneless Smoked Chicken Thighs and Ground Chicken Stir Fry.
How to Make Orange Chicken:
Step 1: If you're making white rice to pair with it, start that first. Next, cut the chicken breast up into bite sized pieces of similar size. This will make them cook evenly in the pan. Prepare 2 bowls. In bowl 1: Whisk together the eggs. In bowl 2: Whisk together the cornstarch and flour.
Step 2: Take each piece of chicken and dunk it into the egg mix, then the cornstarch & flour mix. Place on a plate or cooking rack. Set aside.
Step 3: In a saucepan, add in the soy sauce, fresh orange juice, orange marmalade, sriracha, rice vinegar, brown sugar and garlic.
Step 4: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in the oil. Wait to add the chicken until the oil is hot. To test: Toss in a crumb of the flour batter and it should sizzle immediately. Then, working in two batches, add in the half the chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Place on a paper towel lined plate. Cook next batch.
When the chicken is cooking, place the saucepan with sauce on the stovetop and heat over medium heat until boiling. Mix together 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Pour into the sauce mix. Allow the sauce to rapidly boil for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook until a thick sauce.
Step 5: Pour the sauce into a large bowl and toss the chicken into it. Toss and stir gently to coat the chicken completely in sauce.
Step 6: Serve the chicken over rice. Top with sesame seeds and chives. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Highly recommend the cornstarch addition to the flour mix. That's what makes it crispy!
- It's super important to have the oil hot before adding in the chicken. Add a crumb of the cornstarch and flour mix into the oil and look for an immediate sizzle around the whole crumb.
More Asian Recipes You'll Love:
If you tried this Orange Chicken Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Orange Marmalade Chicken
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 chicken breast cut into bites 1x
Description
If you're craving Chinese takeout, skip it and make this Crispy Orange Marmalade Chicken at home instead. It's so easy to make in just 30 minutes and tastes amazing. Crispy battered chicken bites are tossed into the most incredible sticky sauce with fresh orange juice and orange marmalade!
Ingredients
Chicken Bites:
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 chicken breasts, trimmed (about 1 lb)
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- Toppings: 1 teaspoon sesame seeds & 1 tablespoon chives, minced
Orange Sauce:
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- juice from 1 orange (about ⅓ cup)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- If you're making white rice to pair with it, start that first. Next, cut the chicken breast up into bite sized pieces of similar size. This will make them cook evenly in the pan. Prepare 2 bowls. In bowl 1: Whisk together the eggs. In bowl 2: Whisk together the cornstarch and flour.
- Take each piece of chicken and dunk it into the egg mix, then the cornstarch & flour mix. Place on a plate or cooking rack. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, add in the soy sauce, fresh orange juice, ½ cup orange marmalade, sriracha, rice vinegar, brown sugar and garlic.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in the oil. Wait to add the chicken until the oil is hot. To test: Toss in a crumb of the flour batter and it should sizzle immediately. Then, working in 2 batches, add half the chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Place on a paper towel lined plate and start next batch. When the chicken is cooking, place the saucepan with sauce on the stovetop and heat over medium heat until boiling. Mix together 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Pour into the sauce mix. Allow the sauce to rapidly boil for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook until a thick sauce.
- Pour the sauce into a large bowl and toss the chicken into it. Toss and stir gently to coat the chicken completely in sauce.
- Serve the chicken over rice. Top with sesame seeds and chives. Enjoy!
Notes
- Highly recommend the cornstarch addition to the flour mix. That's what makes it crispy!
- It's super important to have the oil hot before adding in the chicken. Add a crumb of the cornstarch and flour mix into the oil and look for an immediate sizzle around the whole crumb.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Chinese
Holly says
Absolutely delicious and way better than take out!