Orange Chicken

Serves 4

This Chinese-American dish is a “food court Chinese” staple in North America. Battered, fried and tossed with mysterious sauce, too often it’s a nutritional train wreck. Suffice to say, you’ll enjoy this dish with its bright orange flavour and cashew buttery crunch. If desired, you can replace the chicken with turkey or tofu.

3/4 cup (180 ml) no-salt-added chicken stock
3/4 cup (180 ml) orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
2 Tbsp (40 ml) rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp (30 ml) low-salt soy sauce
1/4 cup (60 ml) raw cane sugar
3 tsp (15 ml) grated ginger
1/8 tsp (0.5 ml) cayenne powder
1 lb (450 g) cubed, skinless, boneless chicken breast
3 tsp (15 ml) + 2 tsp (10 ml) cooking oil
garlic cloves, minced
red capsicum, thinly sliced
3 tsp (15 ml) cornflour
spring onions, sliced, green and white parts
1/2 cup (125 ml) unsalted raw cashews
Orange slices for garnish
4 cups (1 L) cooked brown rice

1. In large container, whisk together stock, orange juice, orange zest, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and cayenne until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove 1 cup (250 ml) of mixture and place in separate container. Place chicken in large container and marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 
2. Heat wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tsp (15 ml) cooking oil, swirl and add marinated chicken. Cook for 4 minutes; remove chicken from wok; set aside. 
3. Clean wok or pan and return to medium-high heat. Add 2 tsp (10 ml) oil, swirl and add garlic and capsicum; cook 1 minute. Stir cornflour into reserved orange sauce and add to wok or pan along with spring onions, cashews and chicken; cook until sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. 
4. Serve with orange slices and brown rice.

Each serving contains: 2403 kilojoules; 35 g protein; 17 g total fat (3 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 70 g carbohydrates (16 g sugars, 5 g fibre); 394 mg salt

source: "Healthy Chinese Food", alive Australia #15, Autumn 2013