Putting Tasty to the Test: Orange Chicken Recipe

Orange Chicken

I love cooking videos. And few do them better than BuzzFeed’s Tasty page on Facebook. If you’ve spent more than 10 seconds on Facebook in the past couple months you’ve surely seen one of these videos.

And for good reason! The videos are short and show how to make simple, but (as the name of the page implies) tasty dishes. They inspire a sense of, “Hey! I could make that.”

But have you actually made one of those dishes? I realized, after binge watching these videos, that I’d never made one. And I happened to be watching this one right around dinner time and it tickled my taste buds.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

So I made it.

And… It was Tasty!

What I learned

True to the premise of the video series, the dish was easy to prepare, used easy-to-use and on-hand ingredients, and tasted delicious. One of the more challenging parts about cooking new meals is knowing when to do each part of the preparation. By watching the video before preparing, you know what to expect and it’s easier.

The only downside I found was not having the written ingredients. The quantities flash on the screen so fast it’s hard to follow and remember. That means a lot of pausing while you prepare, or pausing while you write down the ingredients.

I’ll save you the trouble and post the recipe below. But definitely watch the video first. Also, when you see the written ingredients and preparation instructions, the dish looks rather involved. But the video proves it’s not. This should give people who are nervous about trying new dishes confidence that it’s not that hard.

INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1 tsp white pepper
1.5 tsp salt
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup corn starch
1/4 cup flour
Vegetable oil for frying

Sauce
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp garlic
1 Tbsp ginger (fresh)
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 Tbsp rice wine
1.5 Tbsp soy sauce
5 Tbsp vinegar
1.5 Tbsp water
3.5 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp orange zest

Slurry
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp water

Garnishes
Sesame seeds
Green onions

PREPARATION

1. Beat the egg in a small bowl with the salt and white pepper.
2. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup corn starch and 1/4 cup flour.
3. Coat the chicken pieces in the egg and then the flour/corn starch.
4. Place in an electric frying pan with heated vegetable oil. Make sure the pieces don’t clump together.
5. Fry until the sides turn a golden brown, then flip and fry until the chicken is cooked through.
6. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Start by sauteing 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.
7. Then add rice wine (I substituted rice vinegar), soy sauce, vinegar, water, sugar and orange zest. Mix well.
8. When chicken is done, remove and place on a paper-towel lined plate so the oil can drip off.
9. Add the chicken to the sauce and coat well.
10. Mix 1 Tablespoon corn starch with 1 Tablespoon of water in a small bowl and add to the chicken/sauce. Mix well. This makes the sauce cling to the meat.
11. Garnish with sesame seeds and/or sliced green onion.

One change I made was substituting clementine zest for orange zest. This was mostly done out of necessity since I decided on the spur of the moment to prepare this dish and didn’t have any oranges. The substitution worked out nicely and had a nice, bright flavor.

This was definitely a keeper. So fast to prepare and yummy. Even my 19-month-old daughter, who hates most chicken, loved it. Give it a try.

Have you made any Tasty recipes from the videos? If so, which one(s)?

Orange Chicken Recipe

Print Recipe

Orange Chicken

Testign out a Tasty video to see if it stood up to all the hype. Well, this Orange Chicken did. It's not only easy, but also TASTY!

Course: Main Course

Keyword: CopyCat Recipe, Dinner, Food, Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 chicken breasts cubed
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/4 cup flour
• Vegetable oil for frying

Sauce

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1 Tbsp ginger fresh
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp rice wine
• 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce
• 5 Tbsp vinegar
• 1.5 Tbsp water
• 3.5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp orange zest

Slurry

• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp water

Garnishes

• Sesame seeds
• Green onions

Instructions

• Beat the egg in a small bowl with the salt and white pepper.
• In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup corn starch and 1/4 cup flour.
• Coat the chicken pieces in the egg and then the flour/corn starch.
• Place in an electric frying pan with heated vegetable oil. Make sure the pieces don’t clump together.
• Fry until the sides turn a golden brown, then flip and fry until the chicken is cooked through.
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Start by sauteing 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.
• Then add rice wine (I substituted rice vinegar), soy sauce, vinegar, water, sugar and orange zest. Mix well.
• When chicken is done, remove and place on a paper-towel lined plate so the oil can drip off.
• Add the chicken to the sauce and coat well.
• Mix 1 Tablespoon corn starch with 1 Tablespoon of water in a small bowl and add to the chicken/sauce. Mix well. This makes the sauce cling to the meat.
• Garnish with sesame seeds and/or sliced green onion.

Check out these delicious recipes:

• Grilled Lime Chicken Tacos
• Kicked-up Cajun Chicken & Rice
• Noodles & Co. Copycat Recipe: Wisconsin Mac & Cheese
• One-Pot Simple Alfredo for a Classy and Simple Meal
• The Tastiest Crockpot BBQ Meatballs