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This copycat Panda Express orange chicken tastes just like the restaurant version! It’s also simple, flavorful, and delicious.
Orange chicken is one of the most classic Asian recipes! Serve it with Homemade Fried Rice, Egg roll Recipe, and Egg Drop Soup for all of the take-out fixings!
We Love a Tasty Copycat!
We are big fans of this copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken! It’s been one of our favorite fast food meals forever and we love that we can make it at home.
Not only does it taste like the real deal, but it’s quite simple too.
Why you will love it too:
- Quick and easy. This simple dish is ready in only 15 minutes!
- Delicious. It tastes just as fabulous as the real deal, if not better.
- Make a meal. Serve it up with rice or Noodles, Chow Mein, or Fried Rice for a full Asian dinner meal.
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken thighs – use boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt
- white pepper
- cornstarch
- all-purpose flour
- large egg
- water
- vegetable oil
- frying oil – use an oil with a high smoking point to deep fry the chicken such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.
- chili flakes
- fresh garlic – minced
- fresh ginger– minced
- brown sugar
- orange juice – bottled or fresh squeezed orange juice from 2 medium oranges. For an extra burst of orange flavor mix in orange zest.
- vinegar
- soy sauce – optional
- sesame oil
How to make Orange Chicken
- CHICKEN. Cube chicken and set aside. Mix salt, pepper, cornstarch, and flour in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add egg, water, and oil until the consistency is like a batter. Add chicken to the batter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- FRYING. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350°F. Add chicken and fry until golden brown (or about 5 minutes). Remove chicken and add to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Fry the chicken in batches so that each piece gets crisp, overcrowding can result in soggy chicken.
- SAUCE. Add oil to a large saucepan (or wok) and cook on medium-high heat. Add red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and orange juice and stir to combine. Mix in vinegar and soy sauce until combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and water. Add to the saucepan and stir. Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add chicken and stir to coat. Top with sesame oil and sesame seeds if desired. Serve over rice or noodles.’
Recipe Tips
- Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, and extra red pepper flakes.
- Add spice. Add ½ tablespoon of sriracha to the sauce. If that’s still not enough, sprinkle on some red pepper flakes.
- Thicken the sauce. The sauce will thicken as it cooks. If it isn’t thick enough add a cornstarch slurry.
- Serve alongside Cauliflower Rice, Garlic Noodles, Fried Rice, Fortune Cookies, or Cream Cheese Rangoons.
- Sauce for later. Double the amount of orange sauce ingredients, use half over your fried chicken pieces, and store the other half in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for 2-3 months to use later.
- STORE. Place leftover chicken and sauce in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for 3-4 months.
- Thaw in the fridge before reheating. Reheat leftovers in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400°F or in a pan on the stovetop or microwave.
For More Asian Chicken Dishes, Try:
General Tso’s Chicken
20 mins
Kung Pao Chicken
20 mins
Sweet and Sour Chicken
25 mins
Easy Teriyaki Chicken
30 mins
Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe
This copycat Panda Express orange chicken tastes just like the restaurant version! It's also simple, flavorful, and delicious.
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1½ cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon chili flake
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce optional
- 2 tablespoons water optional
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Cube chicken and set aside.
- Mix salt, pepper, cornstarch, and flour in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add egg, water, and 2 tabespoons of oil until the consistency is like a batter. Add chicken to the batter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in deep fryer to 350°F. Add chicken and fry until golden brown (or about 5 minutes). Remove chicken and add to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Make sauce by adding oil to a pot and cooking on medium-high heat. Add red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add brown sugar and orange juice and stir to combine. Mix in vinegar and soy sauce until combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and water. Add to the saucepan and stir. Cook until sauce thickens.
- Add chicken and stir to coat. Top with sesame oil and sesame seeds if desired. Serve over rice or noodles.
Video
Notes
STORE. Place leftover chicken and sauce in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for 3-4 months.
-
Thaw in the fridge before reheating. Reheat leftovers in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400°F or in a pan on the stovetop or microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 556kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 128mg, Sodium: 1241mg, Potassium: 372mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 90IU, Vitamin C: 4.2mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 3.5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first published in 2016 and was updated in 2024.
Our family are all big fans of the Panda Express Orange Chicken, but this tastes nothing like it. Far too much orange flavor and I even cut down the zest to 1/2 tablespoon and did 1-1/2 times the amount of the other sauce ingredients as I had more chicken than called for. Was hoping for a hit because my son absolutely loves Orange Chicken, but we cannot afford to eat there regularly. Guess I will keep searching for a recipe.
This recipe is fantastic and a family favorite but the time to make this is much longer than 15 minutes. It is more labor intensive than I expected.
Thank you for trying it 🙂
There’s no oyster sauce in the ingredients…
I do not use it, but you are more than welcome to use it.
This recipe sounds quite yummy. FOr those interested fLOUR contains gluten, so this recipe is not gluten free. Also, the real Panda Express recipe uses orange flavoring. Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome!! Thank you!
Orange chicken is one of our favorite meals to make at home and if it taste like panda even better! So simple and very good. Sure to please the family.
This recipe really is better than Pandas Orange Chicken Recipe. It was a family favorite!
This is one of my daughters favorite recipes!! it is so easy to make and delicious!
My girls love panda EXPRESS and ask for it weekly. With this recipe THEY’LL be abLe to have it more often.
I can’t believe how easy this was to make & how incredibly tasty it was! My family loves Panda Express, so I am happy that we can just make it at home & it taste even better!