Orange Chicken

I have a great love of Mexican food. But after ten years of marriage, I am finally starting to open my eyes to the fact that my poor husband does not share my love. He doesn't hate it, but it is not his choice. I am starting to notice that his default choice is Asian food. When I eat a chimichanga, he chooses an egg roll. So I've decided to improve my Asian cooking skills. Now, I am not too worried about being totally authentic, so if that's what you want, this won't satisfy you. But I did find this incredibly delicious recipe for http://www.food.com/. (they called it Panda Express Orange Chicken, but the instructions were kind of weird, so don't bother looking- just use my version.)



Ingredients

1 or 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp salt

pepper

oil (for frying)

1/2 c cornstarch, plus 1 tbsp

1/4 c flour

1 tbsp gingerroot, minced (or if you don't have it, use powdered ginger about 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp crushed hot red chili peppers (I left this out)

1/4 c green onions, chopped (I never have green onions, so I chopped up a green pepper. yum)

1 tbsp rice wine (again, didn't have it so I used rice vinegar and it was fine)

1/4 c water

1/2 tsp sesame oil



Orange Sauce Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp water

5 tbsp sugar

5 tbsp white vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp orange juice concentrate



In one bowl combine all the ingredients for the Orange Sauce.

Heat your oil to 375 degrees. (I used a deep fat fryer) In a small bowl combine 1/2 c cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper. In another small bowl, crack and egg and mix it up. Dip your chicken into the egg, then coat it in the flour mixture. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes, until golden and crisp. Then drain it on a paper towel.

While frying the chicken, add 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil to a frying pan or wok (I don't have a wok). Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Then add crushed chilis (if you're using them), green onions (or green peppers), and rice wine (or rice vinegar). Stir fry until the veggies are done. Now add the orange sauce and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken and stir until it's coated in the sauce. Mix 1/4 c cold water with remaining 1 tbsp cornstach and stir into the chicken. Heat until the sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

My husband really, really liked this. He seemed a little surprised that I had made it and not gotten it from a mix or something. I really, really liked it too. Enjoy!