Panda Express Orange Chicken

Panda Express Orange Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• white pepper (for looks, if you don't mind a few pepper specks, black works great)
  
• oil (for frying)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch, plus 1/4 tablespoon cornstarch
  
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon gingerroot, minced (You can use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried ginger + 1/2 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice)
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red chili pepper (if you don't have that, you can use 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper)
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon rice wine (You can use white grape juice, apple juice, or rice wine vinegar + 1Tbs white sugar)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Orange Sauce for Stir Fry

• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 orange, zest of

Directions

1. Place chicken pieces in large bowl.
2. Stir in egg, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon oil and mix well.
3. Stir cornstarch and flour together.
4. Add chicken pieces, stirring to coat.
5. Heat oil for deep-frying in wok, frying pan, or deep-fryer to 375 degrees.
   
6. Add chicken, small batches at a time, and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until golden crisp.
7. (Do not overcook chicken).
8. Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside.
9. Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat.
10. Add 1 tablespoon oil.
11. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant; about 10 seconds.
12. Add and stir-fry crushed chiles and green onions.
    
13. Add rice wine and stir 3 seconds.
14. Add Orange Sauce and bring to boil.
15. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed.
16. Stir water into remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth and add to chicken.
17. Heat until sauce is thickned.
18. Stir in sesame oil and orange zest.
19. Serve over white or fried rice as desired.

*Hint: If you use the substitutions I included, cook the garlic and green onions, then add the other ingredients (dried ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon/lime juice, and white grape juice)