Tender chunks of white meat chicken with crispy breading and a sweet, tangy glaze — learn how to make the famous Panda Express Orange Chicken at home!
Panda Express Orange Chicken
I might avoid fried foods most of the time, but keeping it real, I love me some crispy orange chicken!! It’s definitely one of my favorite “guilty” pleasures.
There’s just something so satisfying about those soft pillows of chicken breast enveloped in crispy batter and dripping with sticky sweet orange glaze. My mouth is watering just talking about it!
I couldn’t believe that it was this easy to recreate this takeout dish in my own kitchen! All you do is mix up the sauce (just 5 simple ingredients), coat the chicken in a light breading and fry the pieces, then toss everything together in a skillet.
With this easy copycat recipe, you can enjoy Panda Express’ signature dish at home — in about 30 minutes!
Ingredients
I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience in re-creating this recipe; disclosure policy available here.
- Boneless & skinless chicken breast, chopped
- Egg
- Salt & Pepper
- Vegetable Oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
- Cornstarch
- All purpose flour
- Ginger root, minced
- Garlic, minced
- Red chili pepper flakes
- Green onion, chopped
- Mirin (sweet rice cooking wine)
- Water
- Sesame oil
For the Orange Sauce:
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons water
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons white vinegar
- zest of 1 orange
To Make the Sauce: Add all sauce ingredients to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until well-combined. Sauce may be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Instructions
To prep, line up two small mixing bowls on your counter. These will be used to coat your chicken pieces.
What to put in each bowl:
- Bowl 1: Mix together 1 egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil.
- Bowl 2: Whisk together 1/2 cup corn starch and 1/4 cup flour.
To Make the Fried Chicken
- Heat about 3 cups of oil in a deep-fryer or large frying pot to 375 degrees.
- While the oil heats, chop your boneless and skinless chicken into bite-size pieces.
- Dip each chicken piece first into the bowl of in the egg mixture, then roll each piece in the bowl of dry cornstarch mixture until lightly coated.
- Place chicken pieces into the fryer or pot of hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes. When chicken turns a golden brown, remove from the fryer and place on a paper towel lined plate to dry.
TIP: Fry chicken in small batches to prevent lowering the oil temperature.
To Cook the Orange Chicken
- In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1/4 cup water. Set aside.
- Add oil, ginger root, and garlic to a large wok or skillet and stir fry for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Stir in chili peppers and green onions.
- Add rice wine (mirin) and stir to combine for less than a minute.
- Add orange sauce to wok and bring mixture to a boil.
- Add fried chicken pieces and stir until coated in sauce.
- Stir in the small bowl of water/corn starch mixture and continue stirring until sauce thickens.
- Add sesame oil and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated and chicken is coated in a rich, thick orange sauce.
Best enjoyed warm.
We love to serve our orange chicken on a bed of fluffy jasmine rice with a side of broccoli. Try our tasty Broccoli with Garlic sauce recipe!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Use Dark Meat Chicken?
Panda Express uses chicken thighs to make their orange chicken dish. So while we used white meat chicken in this recipe, you could absolutely use dark meat instead.
One of the benefits of using white meat is that it cooks faster, so you can get dinner on the table quickly. If using dark meat, you’ll want to cook a tad longer — about 5-7 minutes for dark meat instead of 3-4 minutes for white meat.
Can You Use Pre-Made Orange Sauce?
As of the time I wrote this post, Panda Express actually sells their own orange sauce at grocery stores. Oddly, it has very mixed reviews, so if you have a couple extra minutes I recommend making your own sauce with the recipe here.
It’s actually very quick and only uses a few ingredients. Since they are real food ingredients, it will taste better! (Sometimes packaged sauces have additives and preservatives which can affect flavor).
Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe (Printable Copy)
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Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
- Wok or large Saute Pan
- Deep Fryer or Large Pot of Oil for frying
- 2 Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pepper
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 1/2 cup corn starch plus 1 TB
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon ginger root minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup green onion chopped
- 1 Tablespoons Mirin rice cooking wine
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
For the Orange Sauce:
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons water
- 5 Tablespoons sugar
- 5 Tablespoons white vinegar
- zest of 1 orange
Instructions
To prepare the chicken:
- Mix together egg, salt, pepper and 2 TB vegetable oil in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a separate medium sized bowl, add 1/2 cup corn starch and 1/4 cup flour and whisk together. Set aside.
- Heat about 3 cups oil in a deep-fryer or large frying pot to 375 degrees. The amount of oil may vary based on your fryer or pot.
- Chop your boneless and skinless chicken into bite-sized chunks. Dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture, roll in the corn starch mixture until lightly coated, and place in your fryer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- When chicken turns a golden brown, remove from the fryer and place on a paper towel lined plate.
- Fry chicken in small batches to prevent lowering the oil temperature.
To Make the Orange Sauce:
- Whisk together sauce ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.
Put it all together:
- In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1/4 cup water. Set aside.
- Using a wok or large skillet add oil, ginger root, and garlic to a large wok or skillet and stir fry for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Stir in chili peppers and green onions.
- Add rice wine and stir to combine for less than a minute.
- Add orange sauce to wok and bring mixture to a boil.
- Add fried chicken pieces and stir until coated in sauce.
- Stir in your small bowl of water/corn starch mixture and continue stirring until sauce thickens.
- Add sesame oil and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated and chicken is coated in a rich, thick orange sauce.
- Best enjoyed warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Be sure to pin this recipe on Pinterest:
More of our favorite Asian-inspired recipes:
“Famous” Asian Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- NYE Champagne Jello Shots - November 29, 2022
- Gingerbread Cream Pie - November 29, 2022
- Peppermint Holiday Mule - November 28, 2022
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