The Quarantine Cook: Orange Chicken

Here's my recipe for Orange Chicken. This shit is pretty easy to make and will taste just like what you would order from a Chinese take out spot. 

(Note: If you want it to be crispy like General Tso's then toss the chicken in corn starch and use about an inch of oil in the pan so the chicken fries. I didn't do this in my version but by all means, do this if you have enough corn starch and vegetable oil.)   

This dish is all about the sauce. Here’s what I’m working with.
This recipe is pretty forgiving, as long as you have soy sauce, orange juice & sugar you can reduce that down and make a simple sauce)

INGREDIENTS
-Chicken breast
-1/2 cup orange juice
-3 Tbsp brown sugar(white sugar works fine)
-2 Tbsp soy sauce
-1 Tbsp corn starch
-1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1/2 Tbsp Hot Sauce (if you like it spicy go off here)
-1 Tbsp ginger (I’m using frozen ginger cubes from the store if you have fresh ginger use that)
-2 cloves of chopped garlic
-1 tsp of chili flakes
-1 squeeze of honey
-The zest (outside skin) of half an orange. (If you don’t have fine grater to shave the zest you can use a sharp knife and scrape it off)
-Rice for serving
-Chives or scallions for garnish.

METHOD
-First, get your rice cooking. I’m using a pressure cooker which makes it very easy. If you don’t have a pressure cooker take a cup of rice and put it in a pot with 3 cups of water. Bring that to a boil and let it go for 10 mins then drain it off like pasta. There are many different ways to make rice I’ve found this is the easiest method. If you know another way go for it. -Cut your chicken breast into small cubes & season with salt and pepper.
-Place a pan on med-high heat w/ a splash of veg oil.
-Add diced chicken to the pan.
-Cook for about 3-4 mins or until browned. Make sure to cook your chicken in batches if you pan is on the smaller side. Try not to have the chicken pieces touching each other in the pan, you won’t get that nice brown color if they are.

THE SAUCE
-Combine soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice, sugar, hot sauce, chili flake, ginger & garlic in a pot.
-Simmer for 3 mins.
-In a cup whisk together 1 Tbsp of corn starch w/ 2 Tbsp of orange juice until combined.
-Pour this corn starch mixture into a saucepot and stir.
-Bring sauce to boil then reduce to simmer (5mins)
-Stir until sauce thickens.
-Take off the heat and zest in half an orange

FINISH
-Pour sauce over cooked chicken and toss in pan to coat evenly.
-Serve chicken over rice with chives and sesame seeds as a garnish.

Now that’s a fucking recipe