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Asian Glazed Orange Chicken

Avatar photoby Published: Dec 7, 2019 Updated: Aug 22, 2023

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This sticky sweet and spicy orange chicken sauce with ginger and garlic dresses up juicy chicken thighs for a fast and easy dinner.

Asian Glazed Orange Chicken | foodiecrush.com #recipe #easy #sticky #sauce

Easy Orange Glazed Chicken

In the world of family cooking, unless you’re a vege/pesca/non-chicken-eating/atarian, you can never have too many easy chicken recipes in your recipe rolodex.

Do they even make rolodexes anymore? Apparently, yes!

This family favorite chicken dinner recipe combines the classic Asian ying and yang of spicy and sweet.

Spicy and sweet, just like me. Or maybe that’s just how I see myself in my own mind? It’s quite possible. I’ll ask my husband. Wait. Scratch that. I’ll just keep the visions to myself.

Orange chicken. The thought of it brings childhood memories of takeout boxes filled with chunks of chicken glazed in a sweet orange sauce that left me craving more. A memory to be dashed by my adult realization that those chicken particles were most often barely distinguishable mini poultry pieces overtaken by clumpy, fried nuggets in a too sweet, what’s-in-the-mystery sauce?

In fact, Smudge ordered orange chicken the other day at lunch. I was eager with anticipation for her lunch to arrive so I could per usual steal a bite of hers before even tasting my own. I know, it’s a terrible habit I have.

Then it arrived. And my excitement flip-flopped to disappointment with the first taste. No ying. No yang. Just hard, crusty clumps of over-fried chicken in an odd-ly orange-ish (was it even made with real ingredients?) sauce.

No more, I declared. From now on, we stick to our homemade, baked rather than fried version.

It’s legit.

Asian Glazed Orange Chicken is an easy dinner classic that's a little bit sweet and spicy | foodiecrush.com

What’s in This Asian Orange Chicken?

Today’s landscape is all about eating seasonal and with winter soon to arrive we’re moving into the months that bear the best that citrus has to offer. This recipe calls for juice squeezed from fresh oranges for ultimate citrus flavor. If you must, use a pre-made juice in the interest of time or patience, but please choose a high-quality juice rather than a frozen concentrate.

I make this recipe with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. They’re juicy, tender and pair well with the sauce. I skip the skin because while some recipes benefit from chicken with the skin’s crispy texture, the chicken in this recipe is cooked in the orange chicken sauce. So if you used chicken with the skin it has a tendency to turn into a mushy liner and isn’t really needed in my opinion.

I prefer to use a garlic press for my garlic and a grater for my ginger rather than mincing. I feel it spreads the flavors through the sauce better this way, but if you prefer to mince (like my husband did this time for the photos), go for it.

A little chicken broth, fresh ginger, brown sugar, and hoisin sauce round out this dish to ensure it’s packed with flavor.

Asian Glazed Orange Chicken is an easy dinner classic that's a little bit sweet and spicy | foodiecrush.com

How to Make Orange Chicken

Working in batches, sear the chicken thighs on both sides in an oiled skillet, then transfer to a plate. Whisk together the orange chicken sauce and pour it into the skillet. Let the sauce reduce a bit before adding the chicken back to the skillet.

Pop the chicken into the oven and let it bake for around 20 minutes, or until it’s cooked through.

Once the glazed orange chicken comes out of the oven, remove the chicken from the fry pan and transfer to a serving platter, reserving the glaze in the pan. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep it warm, then continue cooking the orange chicken sauce until it’s reduced.

Can I Use Chicken Breasts Instead of Thighs?

Technically, yes. But in this instance I highly recommend using thighs as they cook a little faster and they’re much juicier than chicken breasts.

Do I Have to Use Brown Sugar?

I’ve only made the orange chicken sauce as written, so I can’t speak to how this dish would taste if you used a sugar substitute like honey in the sauce. If you use something else in place of the brown sugar, please leave me a comment letting me know how it turned out!


Asian Glazed Orange Chicken is an easy dinner classic that's a little bit sweet and spicy | foodiecrush.com

Tips for Making Orange Glazed Chicken

To keep this a one-skillet meal, make sure to use an oven-safe skillet for this easy orange chicken recipe. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, simply transfer the chicken from the skillet to a baking dish when it’s time to pop the meat into the oven.

In case you were curious, I used a zester like this one for making the skinny orange pieces for garnish. It’s great for cocktails too.

This orange glazed chicken pairs nicely with white or brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice. To keep things super simple, serve with peas or steamed broccoli.

More Asian Chicken Recipes to Try

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.



Asian Glazed Orange Chicken from foodiecrush.com on foodiecrush.com
4.90 from 29 votes

Asian Glazed Orange Chicken

This sweet and spicy orange sauce with ginger and garlic dresses up juicy chicken thighs for a fast and easy dinner.
Print
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword chicken
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 523kcal

Ingredients 

  • 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground balck pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from about 3-4 oranges)
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup hoisin sauce
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced or pressed
  • 2 heaping tablespoons orange zest
  • 1- inch knob fresh ginger , peeled and grated (about 1 teaspoon total)
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
  • Cilantro leaves and additional sliced orange , for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Season the chicken thighs with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Place half of the chicken thighs in the pan and sear both sides of the chicken until lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining thighs.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients until well combined. Pour into the same pan and cook the sauce over medium heat and cook until reduced by a third.
  • Add the chicken back to the pan and and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
  • Remove the chicken from the fry pan and transfer to a serving platter, reserving the glaze in the pan. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  • Cook the glaze over medium heat until the sauce is reduced by another third. Drizzle over the chicken and garnish with cilantro and sliced oranges if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 216mg | Sodium: 1007mg | Potassium: 827mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 203IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3mg

Asian Glazed Orange Chicken | foodiecrush.com #recipe #easy #sticky #sauce

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    4.90 from 29 votes (29 ratings without comment)

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  1. Debra Schultz

    I made this on 3.29.24. I use the boneless skinless thighs, they were so juicy! I quartered red onion & carrots cut on the diagonal added them to sauce. I layered them on a sheet pan with the chicken on top with sauce on everything! Baking 25min. then broil 5min. Thank you, my tummy was happy. I don’t want to share

    Reply

  2. CeeJay

    Wow, this was very good, but waaaaaaay too sweet. I used the full half cup of brown sugar… next time will try 2 tbsp, might be closer to my taste. I also added some tamari at serving time, but that was partially to counter the sweetness of the sauce.

    Reply

  3. Louise Tolman

    My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. Mine didn’t quite look like your pictures, but none the less it tasted great and I will surely be repeating it.

    Reply

    • Avatar photoheidi

      That’s great to hear Louise. And my recipes always end up looking a little different each time I cook too. Thanks for coming back around with the comment.

      Reply

  4. Boomer

    Great recipe – The family really enjoyed this! It might have been a bit sweet for my tastes so I will cut back the sugar a bit next time, but maybe my hoisin is sweeter than others. By the way I used 1.3kilos of chicken (and kept the amount of sauce) – good for 4 big people and a little left over.

    Reply

  5. Malinda

    My husband saw this recipe, went to grocery store and came back with oranges and ginger, handed me the recipe and said call me when ready lol. So guess what I’m cooking.

    Reply

  7. Deborah

    In your Asian Glazed Orange chicken recipe, it woulduld be helpful if you posted the actual amount of ginger your “one knob” of ginger root yields….thanks

    Reply

  12. Letty / Letty's Kitchen

    Oh yes you are so sweet and spicy. Looks to me like take-out orange chicken doesn’t stand a chance compared to yours, even if the disappointing dish Smudge ordered had been something to rave about! I’m sharing this with a chicken-2x-a-week-for-dinner friend. She will be so happy.

    Reply

  15. Barbara Madrid

    Oh my gosh, I made this tonight, and it’s reeeeeallllly good! Thank goodness, I have leftovers–what a great find! So much better than what you get in restaurants. And EASY! Really good stuff, so glad I jumped in and tried it!!

    Reply

  17. Michelle | A Dish of Daily Life

    This looks SO good! I just made an orange glaze for a ham, and in typical food blogger fashion, made extra for the picture. I was planning to use it on chicken and then I saw this! So now I will have to use mine and then make yours next time around! Right now I’m wishing your chicken could just jump off the computer and on to my plate! Pinning!

    Reply

  21. Liren

    Rolodex! I remember those ;)

    My daughter might run away and ask to be adopted if she sees this. She LOVES orange chicken. I’ll have to make it for her :) And me.

    Reply

  29. Laura ~ RYG

    I cannot wait to try this! My favorite Chinese restaurant where I just bought Orange Chicken was shut down for sketchy reasons. According the the news reports, they were serving roadkill deer as a beef substitute. And since it was actually on the 5 o’clock news, I kind of think this is true? It’s time to cook to make my own because I can’t live with that.

    Reply

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