Orange Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

If your family is a fan of Chinese food, chances are you've ordered a dish called Orange Chicken. There are so many variations of this dish that most people's culinary experience eating it really depends on each person's palate. Sometimes the dish will have a strong soy sauce flavor to it. Other times, Orange Chicken will be sweet and tangy, almost like a sweet and sour dish. However, this dish can be easily re-created in your home kitchen based on how you like it.

Using ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, orange zest and juice, and oyster sauce as a base, you can adjust this sauce to your liking. Whenever I'm cooking stir-fry, I like to make the sauce first. Generally speaking, I always recommend to people when making a stir-fry sauce to taste as you go, tweaking it until you're happy with it.

Now, if you've ever ordered Orange Chicken from a Chinese fast-food chain with a Panda as its logo, then you are familiar with how sweet and spicy their version is. This version is not that dish. However, if you prefer a similar type of flavor, feel free to sweeten your sauce up with sugar, honey, agave, etc. Personally speaking, I like to add two tablespoons of granular evaporated cane juice. This helps with slightly caramelizing the sauce making it thicker, but I wouldn't say it makes the sauce sickly sweet. Once again, taste as you go and make the changes you want to make this sauce your own. Like it spicy? Add red pepper flakes. Like it with more orange flavor, add more zest. Fan of garlic, add a few more cloves. Be as creative as you want to be.

Lastly, I would like to offer this tip when it comes to vegetables. Some vegetables should be slightly cooked before adding to the stir-fry. These vegetables would include large broccoli crowns, green beans, and largely cubed root vegetables. By cooking them first, the texture is more ideal for stir-frying with softer vegetables like mushrooms, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced onions, carrots, etc.

If you like this recipe, try my Easy Fried Rice.