Orange Chicken and Brown Rice

Orange Chicken. I like it. But can it really be labeled as Chinese food? It seems pretty Americanized if you want my opinion. I mean, you can get it at Applebees. If you can get it at Applebees (which I have nothing against, I worked at one for 2.5 years in high school and college) it's pretty widely-accepted and standard. Anyway, unimportant tangent. It's tasty and we liked it. It was a little labor intensive because you have to deep fat fry the chicken pieces, so it would be wise to make sure you have a helper in this process. Lance is my sous chef and we make a good team. I also got to use my Christmas microplane zester, which made the zesting process a breeze.

Here's the recipe. It pretty much replicates your standard Chinese orange chicken.

Orange Chicken Recipe from BlogChef
Chicken- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2” cubes)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 egg (beaten)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce-
1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)
½ teaspoon garlic (minced) - I have no recollection of putting this in, so if you forget you'll be ok
2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer(or use a wok) until completely cooked.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
Step 3: Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions. Enjoy.