Best orange chicken, better than our panda friend can make…
Ingredients:
Sauce:
1/2 cup (118 ml) oyster sauce
1/2 cup (95 g) sugar
3 ounces (90 ml) orange juice
3 ounces (90 ml) rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)
1 tablespoon (7 g) cornstarch, mixed into the rice wine vinegar as a slurry
2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
1 tablespoon (15 ml) hoisin sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 drop red food coloring, optional
Chicken:
1 1/2 quarts (1.8 L) vegetable oil, for deep frying
2 pounds (900 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups (335 g) tempura flour
Assembly:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons minced, peeled fresh ginger
Fried chicken pieces, from above
2 to 3 scallions, cut on the bias into 2-inch lengths
1/2 yellow onion, cut into large dice
Orange Chicken Sauce, from above
Directions:
1: For the sauce: Add the oyster sauce, sugar, orange juice, vinegar- cornstarch slurry, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, paprika and food coloring into a 1-quart saucepan, bring the heat up to medium. Whisk gently as it comes to a simmer. Allow to simmer, keep whisking for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and reserve.
2: For the chicken: Heat the oil in a 4- quart Dutch oven to 375 degrees F using a deep-fry thermometer. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle 1 cup tempura flour over the chicken cubes and toss to lightly dredge, shake off the excess. Mix the remaining 1 1/2 cups of tempura flour with 1 cup cold water to make a thin batter, it should look like pancake batter. Fry in batches until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels or a rack.
3: To assemble: Heat a large skillet on high and add the vegetable oil. When you see the first wisps of white smoke, stir in the garlic, ginger and fried chicken pieces and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add the scallions, onion and Orange Chicken Sauce and allow to coat and simmer. Cook, folding all the ingredients until they are well coated, about 2 minutes