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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Orange Chicken
Directions
Matthew Kadey, MSc, RD
Matthew Kadey is a dietitian, nutrition writer, and recipe developer. He is also the author of Rocket Fuel (VeloPress, 2016) and Muffin Tin Chef (Ulysses Press, 2012).
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