Ground Orange Chicken is genius.
All of the wonderful flavors of orange chicken, except with no frying. This meal comes together SO quick, and it’s a great alternative for those who are watching their calories.
Homemade orange chicken sauce is made with a real orange! No extracts or store-bought juice needed here. It’s sweet, tangy with a hint of heat, and full of orange flavor. You will likely never buy bottled sauce again. Served with a helping of my homemade fried rice, which is also gluten-free.
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What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Ground Orange Chicken?
- Ground chicken, or ground turkey. It’s funny, my grocery store was out of ground chicken and so photographed is actually ground turkey. It turned out absolutely delicious. Ground Orange Turkey doesn’t have the same ring to it though. You do what you have to in this life.
- Minced garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Cooking sherry, or sake. I prefer to use cooking sherry as I can buy it right from my grocery store.
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce or tamari (Be sure it’s gluten-free, if dining GF. I use the brand San-J.)
- Granulated sugar
- Rice wine vinegar
- Nub of ginger
- Zest of an orange
- Freshly-squeezed juice of an orange
- Cornstarch slurry
- Side of Fried Rice, or white rice and broccoli/or other vegetable
Tip: You will need one large Navel Orange for this recipe.
For the Fried Rice:
I wrote a separate post on how to make my Fried Rice since folks will want to make that as a side for many dishes. For my Fried Rice recipe, click here.
How to Make Ground Orange Chicken:
For the Orange Sauce:
- To a medium-large mixing bowl, add: minced garlic, fresh grated or zested ginger, red pepper flakes, cooking sherry, water, sesame oil, soy sauce, granulated sugar, rice wine vinegar, the zest of one orange, and then the juice of the orange.
- Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Set aside.
For the Ground Orange Chicken:
- Heat a large dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in 1 tbsp cooking oil.
- Add ground chicken or turkey to pan. Tip: Press to bottom of pan to encourage a golden crust, then break it into bits. Cook until browned, crumbling as you go.
- Drain any excess oils.
- Add in orange sauce. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
- Pour in cornstarch slurry, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Then, turn down heat to Low and simmer 1-3 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat.
- Serve with a side of Fried Rice, or white rice and broccoli/ or other vegetable.
Ground Orange Chicken
All of the wonderful flavors of orange chicken, except with no frying. This meal comes together SO quick, and it's a great alternative to those who are watching their calories. Homemade orange chicken sauce is made with a real orange! It's sweet, tangy with a hint of heat, and full of orange flavor. You will likely never buy bottled sauce again. Served with a helping of my homemade fried rice, which is also gluten-free.
Ingredients
For the Orange Sauce:
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes - depending on the spice level you want
- 4 tbsp cooking sherry - or 2 tbsp sake
- 6 tbsp water
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 5 tbsp soy sauce or tamari - If dining GF, check labels for gluten-free. I use San-J brand.
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 10 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 4 tsp freshly zested ginger - skin removed/peeled first
- the zest of one navel orange
- the juice of one navel orange
- cornstarch slurry (4 tbsp water + 4 tbsp cornstarch)
For the Ground Orange Chicken:
- 3 lbs ground chicken or turkey
- side serving of Fried Rice, or white rice and broccoli / or other vegetable
Instructions
For the Orange Sauce:
- To a medium-large mixing bowl, add: minced garlic, freshly zested ginger, red pepper flakes, cooking sherry, water, sesame oil, soy sauce, granulated sugar, rice wine vinegar, the zest of one orange, and then the juice of the orange. Tip: This is everything except the cornstarch slurry.
- Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Set aside.
For the Ground Orange Chicken:
- Heat a large dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in 1 tbsp cooking oil.
- Add ground chicken or turkey to pan. Tip: Press to bottom of pan to encourage a golden crust, then break it into bits. Cook until browned, crumbling as you go.
- Drain any excess oils.
- Add in orange sauce. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
- Pour in cornstarch slurry, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Then, turn down heat to Low and simmer 1-3 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat. Serve with a side of Fried Rice, or white rice and broccoli/ or other vegetable.
Notes
*This recipe is already configured to be a doubled recipe of orange sauce, because we like it saucy. If you are using less ground chicken than the recipe calls for, you can cut the orange sauce in half.
Click here for my Fried Rice recipe
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