Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe (Copycat) - Alyona’s Cooking (2024)

Panda Express Orange Chicken is crispy fried chicken in a sweet and citrusy Chinese chili sauce. Every chicken piece is coated in a thick and tangy glaze that is so addictive! Serve with a side of fried rice or Lo mein for a homemade take on Panda Express!

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For more American-Chinese Copycat Recipes try our General Tso’s Chicken, ChineseChicken Fingers, and Fried Rice. It’s so much cheaper to make your favorite restaurant food at home!

What is Orange Chicken?

Orange Chicken is the signature dish of Panda Express inspired by a tangerine peel beef dish called “Chenpi Niurou” where beef slices are wok-fried in chili peppers and tangerine peels. Today, Panda Express makes it with chicken only with a sweet and sour citrus twist.

This popular orange chicken dish comes from an employee who worked at Panda. It was mentioned that you need to first fry the chicken breaded heavily so that it is nice and crispy. Also, the orange chicken sauce is combined together in a bowl and mixed so that there are no lumps of cornstarch. Orange extract is originally used although you can use orange zest.

The key is to have your chicken ready, then cook the sauce until it’s the right consistency (it should be very sticky when cooked on high for 1-2 minutes). Then you add your chicken and toss to coat. At Panda Express they made enormousbatches but this orange chicken recipe is scaled down for the home cook.

Orange Chicken Ingredients:

• Chicken thighs- Panda uses cut-up chicken thighs. However, you could use marinated chicken breasts instead. Simply marinate the chicken breasts in 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar, and 1-2 cups of cold water for 30 minutes. This is a Chinese restaurant hack for quickly tenderized meat. Then rinse everything off and cut up the meat.
• The Sauce- is a combination of white distilled vinegar, sugar, water, soy sauce, chili flakes, fresh garlic, zested ginger root, orange juice concentrate (or extract), cornstarch, sesame oil, and rice wine. You can substitute apple cider vinegar for the rice wine or white vinegar. Substitute 1 tablespoon of ginger powder or ginger paste for the fresh ginger. Ginger has a citrusy sweet and spicy flavor that is a staple for this sauce.
• The Breading-is a simple combination of part flour and mostly cornstarch for ultra-crispy results. You can substitute tapioca starch or arrowroot powder for the corn starch.
• Wet Batter- consists of an egg, a little oil, and salt and pepper.

How To Make Orange Chicken:

This is an easy orange chicken recipe that you can fry in one pot and cook the sauce in another. Make ahead by frying the chicken pieces first then place the orange chicken in a crock pot with the sauce hours in advance over low. Also, make the sauce on the runnier side so it thickens as it warms. You do need a wok to cook this recipe for orange chicken.

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch thick). Meanwhile, preheat 2 inches of oil in a medium-large pot over medium heat.
2. Make the wet batter by whisking everything together well.
3. Combine and mix together the cornstarch and wheat flour.
4. Dip chicken in the wet batter then the flour breading.
5. Fry in oil and transfer fried chicken into a large bowl lined with paper towels.
6. Make the orange sauce for the chicken by whisking together all the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan or pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer to desired consistency (1-2 minutes).
7. Add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve.

How To Store Panda Express Orange Chicken:

Leftovers can be kept in the fridge and stored in an air-tight container for 4-5 days. The best way to reheat leftovers is to heat them in a skillet with a splash of water or bake uncovered in a sheet pan with a touch of water to revive the sauce.

For more orange chicken recipes try our take on this dish using orange juice. If you made this orange chicken Panda Express dish, leave a comment and rating below!