Orange Chicken

So I went back and forth with what to call this- it doesn’t actually have any orange in it. My husband, Dallin, thought it tastes in between orange and sweet and sour chicken, but closer to orange- I thought it tasted more like sweet and sour 🤷🏻‍♀️ all I know is it’s delicious and you should make it now!

Dal and I used to live in NYC and we were on a super tight budget, plus we’re both introverted home bodies so our favorite date night was Chinese takeout and tv- you know- keeping it classy 😉 Fast forward and we really miss Chinese takeout, but I’ve yet to find a grain free, dairy free option. When I made this, Dal got wide eyed and said it was the best orange chicken he’s ever had and he doesn’t know how I did it, but I recreated NYC Chinese food- this coming from a man who really treasures his Chinese food 😂 and just like normal NYC Chinese takeout, it’s even better day 2!

I love that it’s grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free. It does have quite a bit of honey, so for us personally, it’s more of our fun, date night/weekend meal instead of a weeknight meal, but that’s just us 🙂 I like using lots of sauce for cooking it, but if you want to limit sugar intake, simply use less sauce when plating it after it’s cooked 🙂 I hope you make this and hope you love it! May I recommend eating it while watching your fav show? A few of ours through the years: Gilmore Girls, This Is Us, Psych, White Collar, and Friends. Most of these we’ve been able to watch filtered on VidAngel (our fav!) or Clear Play.

The other great thing abt this recipe? If you’re in a rush, you don’t have to chop the chicken (though it won’t taste as authentic), but it will still be good, but I HIGHLY recommend chopping it 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken tenderloins, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 c. Arrowroot powder
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons for avocado oil (for browning the chicken, more will be needed as you go)
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons honey
• Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line two 9×13 pans with parchment
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside
3. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle very lightly with garlic powder
4. Crack the egg into the bowl of chicken and toss to coat
5. Heat a pan (I prefer cast iron) with avocado oil in it over medium until hot
6. Pour chicken into arrowroot powder and toss to coat chicken. For this part, I just put on some latex gloves and toss to coat using my gloved hands. This prevents it from sticking, plus I hate touching raw meat. I know it’s not eco friendly, but I just do it for this dish or if I have a cut on my hand. If not using gloves, I’d use a spoon or fork since it’ll stick to bare hands
7. Put chicken in pan and brown, ensuring none are overlapping. This took me three batches. I added a small splash of oil for each batch
8. Divide chicken between the two casserole dishes and top with sauce divided between the two pans (they will be pretty spread out, but they were too packed in one pan and this helps them get a nice crisp)
9. If baking full chicken tenderloins, bake for 1 hr, if baking them as chunks, bake for 45 min. until chicken reaches 165 degrees or is no longer pink inside. Broil for 1-2 min
10. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice and garnish with sesame seeds! Enjoy!

* this would be especially good with a roasted vegetable on the side like roasted broccoli or cauliflower

* To reheat, pour chicken and sauce in a sauce pan and sauté over medium until hot.

* Recipe inspired by a family friend. I changed the method and most of the ingredients, but her recipe was the starting template ❤️