Orange Chicken

As any young, educated lady should, I have seen every episode of Sex and the City including both movies. When Miranda is single, she always orders Chinese food. Why not Italian or Thai? What is it about Chinese that makes a single girl desire it?

I have no idea, but for my single Valentine’s Day, I decided to follow suit. I surrounded myself with my brothers, Lish and Tanya and made all of us with out Valentine’s a single gal’s Chinese meal.

Since most Chinese dishes involve MANY ingredients I don’t have, I went with the recipe where I would have to spend the least amount of money on exotic spices and sauces. Orange chicken. Boom.

This recipe suggests you use a wok. I actually happened to have a wok which I bought at checkout at IKEA about 5 years ago for $4. But, you can use a large pot in it’s place.

You will need…

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2” cubes)


1 ½ cups all purpose flour


1 eggs (beaten)


¼ teaspoon salt


¼ teaspoon pepper


Oil (for frying)


For the sauce…

1 ½ cups water


2 tablespoons orange juice


¼ cup lemon juice


1/3 cup rice vinegar


2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce


1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)


1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)


½ teaspoon garlic (minced)


2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)


¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes


3 tablespoons cornstarch


2 tablespoons water

Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat.

Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion.

Bring to a boil.

Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.

Now you don’t have to worry about the Chinese delivery guy making fun of you for ordering for one.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela