General Orange's Chicken

I love Chinese take out. More importantly, I love General Tso's. They crispy chicken and spicy sauce are worth every penny. However, take out can be loaded with salt and the ingredients aren't always of a decent quality. I have been trying for years to find a recipe that can compete with the take out version. I still haven't done it but General Orange's Chicken does come close. It's sort of like a cross between the spiciness of General Tso and the sweet tanginess of Orange chicken. The chicken is nice and crisp and the sauce has a nice orange flavor with a touch of spice to it. This is a great "fake" out meal. It's also better for you because you control the salt content and the quality of ingredients. This recipe calls for chicken thighs. The dark meat of the thighs, keeps the chicken moist and flavorful and also makes it cheaper to make. Don't be discouraged by the list of ingredients. A lot of them are just repeated. This is a very simple dish to make, I promise!

What you Need:

Marinade:

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced

2 tbs lite soy sauce

2 tbs rice wine vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Coating:

2 eggs

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt

pepper

1 c flour

1/4 c cornstarch

Peanut oil for frying

Sauce:

2 c no pulp orange juice

1/3 c brown sugar

2 cloves garlic

1 in piece ginger

1 stick or 6 tbs butter

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs worchestershire sauce

2 tbs rice wine vinegar

Salt

Pepper

What to do:

Cut any remaining fat off of the chicken thighs and cut them into bite size pieces. Place them into a resealable plastic bag. In a bowl combined the remaining marinade ingredients, whisking them together to combine. Pour into the bag with the chicken, press the air out and seal. Then just press the bag around to make sure all the pieces of chicken get coated. Place in the fridge overnight or for at least an hour or two. However overnight is  best in my opinion.

Heat a deep skillet with a couple inches of peanut oil to about 350 degrees. While the oil is heating, drain the marinade off the chicken and pat dry. In a bowl combine the two eggs with the cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt and a couple grinds of black pepper. In a seperate bowl combined the flour with the cornstarch. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture then into the flour to coat it. Set the coated pieces of chicken aside for a few minutes so that the flour adheres to it. Then start to fry in batches. It takes about 5-10 minutes for the chicken to cook through depending on how big your "bite" sized pieces are. Let drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, melt the butter. Take a micro-plane (a very fine grater) and grate the garlic and ginger into the butter. Give it a stir and then add the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce bubble and cook while the chicken is frying. You want the sauce to reduce by about half.

Once all the chicken is cooked and the sauce has reduced combine it all together and serve over your favorite rice. I used just plain white rice that I added some garlic and ginger too while it was cooking. Garish with a few sliced up scallions.

H A P P Y  C O O K I N G !!