I was craving orange chicken, but wanted a healthier option than take-out so I made some minor tweaks to a classic Chinese American dish that you will find shockingly simple.
Rice:
1 cup brown rice
3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon of salt or soy sauce
Sauce:
1 navel orange
2 blood oranges
1/3 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 eggs
1/3-1/2 cup coconut and/or olive oil
Instructions:
Bring three cups of water to a boil and add rice. Reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes and add water as needed until rice is soft. Remove pot from heat then add butter and salt or soy sauce for flavor.
Trim chicken breasts to two inch pieces. Mix flour and cornstarch into a plate or flat bowl. Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl. Soak chicken pieces in egg bowl and lightly dust in the flour/cornstarch mixture. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Juice and strain oranges into a small sauce pan along with honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, freshly grated ginger, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Mix on medium heat for three minutes. In a small bowl mix a tablespoon of cornstarch and two tablespoons of water to make a paste. Whisk paste into sauce pan and reduce to a simmer for five minutes. Keep on low heat occasionally stirring while cooking the chicken.
Heat a large pan with oil over a medium flame. Add chicken to the oiled pan until chicken is golden on both sides and cooking temp reads 165 degrees. Transfer chicken to paper towel to remove excess oil.
Pour a small portion of sauce into a small bowl and set aside. Mix cooked chicken into sauce pan until the chicken is evenly coated.
Scoop rice into a bowl followed by the coated chicken on top. Add additional sauce as desired.
Finally I recommend eating with chopsticks and freshly brewed bubble tea. If you are in West Harlem you should give Tidal Tea a try.
Enjoy!
xx Nicolette
