Whit's Orange Chicken

Tip: REMEMBER to start preparing this dish 2½ hours ahead of time. It's best to just do the first part in the morning!!

Asian Orange Chicken

Sauce:

1½ C water
2 T orange juice
¼ C lemon juice
1/3 C rice vinegar (can sub white vinegar)
2½ T soy sauce
1 T grated orange zest
1 C packed brown sugar
¼ t minced fresh ginger root (can sub with ground ginger)
¼ t minced garlic
2 T chopped green onion
¼ t red pepper flakes

3 T cornstarch
2 T water

CHICKEN:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¼ inch pieces
1 C flour
salt & pepper to taste
3 T olive oil (I prefer peanut oil in this recipe)

Directions:

1. In saucepan (medium heat) combine water, OJ, lemon juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir in zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and green onion. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and cool 10-15 minutes.
2. Place chicken pieces in plastic bag, pour 1 C cooled sauce into bag and seal. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. In another bag mix flour and salt and pepper. Add marinated chicken pieces and shake to coat.
4. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet and brown on both sides. Remove to paper towels and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out skillet (or not) and add sauce. Bring to a boil. Mix together cornstarch and water and stir into sauce. Reduce heat.

Serve over rice.

*This recipe is better the day after. You combine the sauce with the chicken and put it in the fridge. It just gets better and better. It is a lot more like a "take-out" type recipe if you pour the sauce on the chicken and let it sit at least an hour or two before eating. The flour on the chicken absorbs all of the sauce and it gets really "sticky."