Homemade Panda Express Orange Chicken With a Sticky Glaze and a Real Crunch
Jump to recipe ↓
It is 6:20 on a Tuesday, the takeout menu is open in one tab, and you are about to be the person who texts "on my way" to your own kitchen. This homemade Panda Express orange chicken takes about twenty-five minutes, a deep skillet for frying and a second skillet for the sauce, and it ends in a bowl of crisp chicken in orange glaze over rice.
Sweet, tangy, a little spicy, with a thin orange glaze that clings to the crunch.
The idea is straightforward. You cut chicken thighs into bite-size pieces and toss them with cornstarch. They fry in 350-degree oil until golden, and the sauce comes together while they drain: orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and red pepper flakes, simmered for three minutes. The chicken goes into the sauce for two minutes, gets a good toss, and lands on a bed of rice with sliced green onions on top. Dinner for two, or four, or one very determined person with a fork.
It is sweet on the first bite, tangy on the second, and the heat shows up at the end like a good plot twist.
What you need
- 1½ lb chicken thighs
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ oz cooking spray
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 cups white rice
- 3 stalks green onions
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 oz cooking spray
How to make it
- Cut the 1.5 lbs chicken thighs into bite-size pieces and toss with the 2 tbsp cornstarch until evenly coated.
- Heat the 2 cups vegetable oil to 350°F and fry the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes until golden and cooked through, then drain on paper towels.
- In a skillet combine the 0.5 cups orange juice, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the fried chicken to the sauce and toss to coat for 2 minutes.
- Serve over the 2 cups white rice and garnish with the 3 stalks sliced green onions.
Notes
Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. Store the chicken and the rice in separate containers, and reheat the chicken in a skillet or an oven so the coating crisps again. The microwave heats it but softens the crust.
This homemade Panda Express orange chicken is a home-kitchen riff on a mall-food favorite, not the official recipe, and SwipeCart has no connection to the restaurant.
Chicken is safe at 165°F, per USDA FSIS. Thigh pieces fried for five to six minutes should reach it, and a quick thermometer check in the biggest piece settles the question. The method calls for cutting the thighs into bite-size pieces, which keeps the cooking time short and the crust evenly golden.
The cornstarch coating is light. Toss the pieces until they look dusty, then shake off any extra before they go into the oil. A thick, gummy coating fries into a hard shell and keeps the sauce from clinging.
The sauce is thin when it comes off the heat. That is normal, because the hot chicken soaks it up. If it still looks watery after three minutes, simmer it a little longer, until it coats the back of a spoon, before the chicken goes in.
Fry in batches if the skillet looks crowded, and let the oil come back to 350°F between rounds. Crowding drops the temperature and makes the crust greasy.
Swipe it into the week and the agent will add chicken thighs, oranges or juice, rice and a bunch of scallions to one cart. Takeout cannot do that for you, and it does not know how much heat you like.
Swaps that actually work
The orange sauce is the point. Orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and red pepper flakes balance sweet, salty, tangy and hot, so leave the ratios alone. If you want more orange flavor, add a little grated zest.
Everything else in a homemade Panda Express orange chicken can move. Chicken thighs can be chicken breasts cut into pieces, though breasts dry out faster and need a closer watch on the clock and a thermometer. Vegetable oil can be any neutral frying oil, and white rice can be jasmine or brown rice.
If you want a little more heat, add another pinch of red pepper flakes. If you want less, cut them in half. Scallions can be swapped for sesame seeds or a handful of cilantro.
For a lighter version, bake the coated pieces on a sheet pan, misted with cooking spray, until they are browned and cooked through to 165°F, then toss them in the sauce. The crust will be softer and less glossy than a fried one, and you will use far less oil.
The swap that costs you the dish is skipping the fry. The crisp crust is what holds up against the glaze, and without it you have chicken in orange sauce, which is a different dinner.
If it goes wrong
The chicken is soggy. The sauce sat on it too long or the oil was not hot enough. Fry at 350°F until golden, drain on paper towels, and toss in the sauce for only about two minutes before you serve.
The sauce is too thin. It did not simmer long enough. Let it bubble gently a little longer, then add the chicken and toss it so the glaze clings.
The coating is gummy or patchy. There was too much cornstarch or the pieces were wet. Pat the chicken dry before you toss it, and shake off the extra cornstarch.
It tastes flat. Usually salt. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to the sauce, or a splash more soy sauce, and taste again.
What to serve with it
The default is steamed white rice, which soaks up the extra glaze. It is the plate the recipe was built for, and it stays out of the way.
The better version of the default is rice with a side of steamed broccoli or a quick cucumber salad dressed with rice vinegar and a little sugar. The cool crunch balances the sweet sauce.
The thing in the fridge that lifts it: a squeeze of lime, a few sliced scallions, or a drizzle of chili oil if you want more fire.
A lunchbox of the leftovers is a good next-day plan. Rewarm the chicken in a skillet so the crust wakes up, and pack the rice on the side.
Why this one earns its place
Takeout is a relationship of convenience. You open an app, you wait, and you take what arrives. This homemade Panda Express orange chicken is the one you picked yourself, and it tastes like it. If you have ever been undecided between sweet and spicy, you can have both in one bowl.
Swipe it into your week, let the agent shop it, and then try the Panda-style sesame chicken, a plate of general Tso chicken or the Chinese-American orange chicken bowls.
More like this: all Chinese recipes in Crave Corner.