Spicy Orange Chicken

For New Year’s Eve, we had two couples over to help us bring in the new year…Asian style!

Names for the placecards were written in Chinese.

Here was the menu, although I’m only sharing one recipe with you:

Appetizer: Chicken Egg Rolls
Main Dishes: Spicy Orange Chicken over Rice and Vegetable Stir-fry over Egg Noodles

Dessert: Fortune Cookies and Mango Mochi



Spicy Orange Chicken: The star of the meal.



4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 egg

2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 green onion sprigs, sliced diagonally in one inch strips
2 Tbsp rice wine

Orange Sauce
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
7 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp white vinegar
Zest of one orange

In a large bowl, combine egg, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp oil; mix well. Stir in cornstarch and flour. Add chicken pieces and coat with mixture.

In a frying pan, heat 1 inch of oil over med-high heat. Add small batches of chicken at a time and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until golden crisp. Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the sauce. Whisk together; set aside.

Discard oil from pan, wipe it clean and add 1 Tbsp of fresh oil. Add ginger and garlic; cook until fragrant. Add red peppers, green onions, rice wine and orange sauce. Bring to a boil, then turn to low. Stir in chicken to coat with sauce. To thicken sauce, stir in 1 Tbsp cornstarch and cook until sauce thickens.

Serve over white rice and garnish with fresh orange slices.

A simple dessert,