Orange Chicken

It's not healthy in any sense of the word, but I love me some cheap mall Chinese food. And, when I do get it, I always go for the "orange chicken". You know, the spicy but sweet and sour chicken that is coated in an orange sauce, but doesn't actually taste like orange? The sauce is thick and sticky and awesome? The chicken is always questionable, and for someone who is the pickiest meat/poultry eater and eats little to no dark meat, I gobble up that dark-meat (or some kind of meat) chicken no problem. 

Even listening to myself describe the sketchiness of this dish does not deter me from wanting to eat it again.

ANYWAYS, while this recipe is not exactly what you get from a place like Panda Express or China Wok, it's the closest I've come. Every recipe of this style that I've made is either not flavorful enough, tastes entirely too much like soy sauce, or the sauce never thickens up and gets that beautiful stickiness to it. However, this time, I got wonderfully flavorful and sticky sauce. This is definitely a recipe to repeat. I never use my wok as much as I could, but part of it is because when I use the wok, it turns my kitchen in a smoke room. My kitchen is not big, so having that smokiness isn't always fun. Also, as always happen, and did tonight, I burnt the ginger and garlic. I knew I should have let the wok cool a little bit longer, but I followed the recipe and alas, they burnt. That hardly affected the flavor though, so I can imagine it might be even better without those burnt items. Let's get to the recipe, since that's the most important part...other than eating it....

Orange Chicken
adapted from Cooking Recipes Corner

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp. oil (plus more for frying) (I used canola for the marinade and peanut oil for frying)
1 egg
pinch of white ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cornstarch + 1 tbsp. cornstarch, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. rice wine (I didn't have any, I used a dry cooking sherry)
1/4 cup water

For the "orange sauce"
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the tablespoon of oil, egg, white pepper and salt. Add chicken and mix to coat chicken in the egg mixture.
2. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/2 cup of cornstarch. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat with dry mixture.
3. Heat oil for frying in a wok over high heat, to about 375 degrees. Add chicken ( do this in 2 small batches). Cook for 5 minutes or until golden and fried and cooked through. Remove with tongs and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with second batch of chicken pieces.
4. Rinse wok and wipe clean. Return to high heat for 10 seconds, then reduce heat to medium high and heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the red pepper flakes and rice wine.
5. Combined the orange sauce ingredients in a small bowl and then add to the wok. Heat to boiling.
6. Combined the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch with the 1/4 cup of water. Add to the wok and mix. Let the sauce cook and thicken up.
7. Add cooked chicken to wok and toss to coat in the sauce. Remove from heat and serve over rice!