Wednesday, September 18, 2013

WWEW: Panda Express Orange Chicken - Copycat Recipe

Happy hump day! For our "What We Eat Wednesday" I will be sharing with you a copycat recipe for Panda Express: Orange Chicken. A definite favorite in our household. Typically, when I go to Panda Express I get the Sweet Fire Chicken with noodles. However, I know not everyone is a fan of the spicy stuff, so I opted for the orange chicken.
Panda Express - Orange Chicken (Copycat Recipe) - Orchard Girls
Now, this ended up being a last minute pick by the hubby and I, but we REALLY wanted it. Of course, we didn't have all the ingredients that we needed - and we're at least 20 minutes from the nearest grocery store. So we did the next best thing, went to the mother-in-law one stop shop! She, of course, had everything we needed :) 
Panda Express - Orange Chicken (Copycat Recipe) - Orchard Girls
Here is what you'll need: Chicken
  • 1 lb Chicken Breast (cut into various 1 inch pieces)
  • 1-2 cups Self-Rising Flour
  • 2 eggs
  • Oil for frying
Here is what you'll need: Sauce
  • 3-4 oz Orange Juice ( I just used frozen can of OJ)
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 3 tbsp Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. Siracha Sauce (I used a bit more - fan of the spicy!)
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 2 tsp. corn starch
Instructions:
CHICKEN: 1. Heat the oil in your frying pan to about 375 degrees (make sure you have enough oil to cover the chicken).
2. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (It takes a while to fry the chicken so once you finish a batch you can put it in the oven to keep warm)
3. Wisk your eggs in a small bowl till fully mixed
4. Fill a bowl with the self-rising flour
5. Once you've cut your chicken into pieces - one or two at at time - dip into the egg bowl, then into the flour. Repeat twice to fully coat.
6. Once you have about 5-10 pieces put them in your frying vessel and let fry til golden brown (about 10 minutes-ish)

SAUCE: 1. Combine all sauce ingredients into a small pot (making sure the cornstarch is dissolved before cooking). 
2. Cook on medium heat until the sauce thickens.
LAST STEP - Place fried chicken in a large bowl - and pour the sauce on top, mix until the chicken is fully coated. Serve immediately - I also added a sprinkle of red peppers! ENJOY :) Serve with rice or noodles!
 (recipe adapted from - Rachel Rockwell)
Panda Express - Orange Chicken (Copycat Recipe) - Orchard Girls
If you don't have time to fry your chicken you could also just cook a bag of frozen popcorn chicken and make the sauce - either way you'll love this recipe! Let me know what you think? Have you ever tried to copycat a restaurant recipe? I'd love for you to share it with us here at Orchard Girls :)






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7 comments:

  1. I LOVE Panda Express Orange Chicken! Thanks so much for the recipe! I can't wait to try this to have at home. Have a wonderful day!

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    Replies
    1. No problem, Brooke! Thank you for stopping by, be sure to stop back and let us know how it turned out :) I hope you have a wonderful day, as well.
      -Kayla

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  2. I love good Copy Kat recipes!!! Thanks for linking at Show Me Your Plaid Monday's!!

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  3. Love Panda Express Orange Chicken, this will definitely be one of my new recipes to try. Stopping by from Lovely Ladies Linky Party. Thanks for sharing. <3 Kim

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