Orange Chicken

I've never really been a fan of Orange Chicken. Maybe because i've been eating at the wrong places... nevertheless, i just really didn't like it. So why make this dish then if i absolutely dislike it? I love it when i get requests on what i should learn to cook. And this dish was requested by my cousin, Markie.  He rarely requests for new dishes. So i was more than excited to accommodate his wish. :)

He loves the Orange chicken from Chowking. I remember it being too sweet though and the chicken a bit oily. That was the first and last attempt i tried the dish. Like i said, i'm not a fan. But after making this for dinner on Maundy Thursday, i now have a better appreciation of the dish. Kudos to Food.com for the recipe. I changed a few things and basically tripled it to satisfy my family's appetite. There's only five of us in the house and well, the three of us got real big appetites. LOL.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 kilo skinless chicken breast fillet (roughly 6 pieces), cut into bite size
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 cup cornstarch
black pepper (i used about a teaspoon but you can adjust it to your preference)
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
cooking oil for deep frying
1/4 cup chopped spring onions
1 tablespoon minced ginger
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sauce:
Zest of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 orange (will roughly make 6 tablespoons)
4 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce
10 tablespoons  vinegar
12-13 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil

To get the juice of an orange, simply squeeze one of the oranges after you've taken the zest. Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Set aside. Mix egg, salt, black pepper and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix flour and cornstarch. Add egg mixture to flour/cornstarch mix and stir together very well. Drop chicken bites into the batter and stir until it's well coated. Heat cooking oil in a pan or wok. Once hot enough, drop chicken pieces in batches. Once all the chicken pieces have been fried, set aside. Clean the pan/wok. Put the remaining sesame oil and heat for about 10-15 seconds. Stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add spring onion and chili flakes. Stir-fry for about 5-10 seconds then pour the sauce in. Add the water and let it boil. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in water. Drop the chicken pieces into the sauce and stir until its coated with the sauce. Add the dissolved cornstarch and mix until sauce thickens. Serve while hot.

Enjoy!