Happy New Year’s, everyone!
I hope that your 2014 is off to a terrific start. And hopefully, a delicious and healthy start!
So for all of you new years resolution folks who are out there scanning the world wide webosphere looking for lighter recipes after a holiday season full of sweets, you’ve come to the right place. Because I am dedicating the entire month of January this year to sharing healthy recipes with you. And I am stoked to kick things off with a lightened-up Chinese food classic — Skinny Orange Chicken.
This version packs all of the amazing sweet and savory orange flavor of the restaurant-style version, but with only a fraction of the calories and fat. And it is naturally sweetened with honey. And it can be served over rice or (my favorite) quinoa. And it can be made in just 20 minutes from start to finish.
Interested? You should be. :)
The main key to lightening up this restaurant classic is that we simply saute the chicken instead of fry it. The chicken is sauteed until golden and drenched in an orange chicken sauce anyway, so I guarantee you won’t even miss the frying! Plus, it saves us lots of unnecessary fat and calories in an already delicious dish.
And as I said, this skinny orange chicken recipe can literally be made in about 20 minutes. So here’s what you need to make it happen.
First, begin by cutting your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Mine were roughly 1-inch cubed. Then season them with lots of salt and pepper for extra flavor.
Next, we make the rockstar of this recipe — the orange chicken sauce. This sauce really could not be simpler. Simply whisk all of the ingredients together along with some cornstarch (for thickening), and you’re ready to go.
Chicken + Sauce. Done.
Next, saute the chicken in some olive oil until it is nearly cooked through. Be sure to let it rest in the pan a bit while cooking so that the sides can get nice and browned.
Then pour in the sauce, which should come to a boil within a minute or so. Let it boil for about 1-2 minutes, or until it’s nice and thickened.
Then top the chicken with some extra orange zest, green onions and toasted sesame seeds, and you’re good to go!
If you want to go the traditional route, you can serve this orange chicken recipe over rice. But I’m a big fan of eating stir-fry recipes with quinoa. So I whipped up a quick batch for this recipe, made (as always) with chicken broth for extra flavor.
I mean, really, just look at that gorgeous dish!
So much great flavor, and so little unnecessary fat and calories from frying the chicken. I’m pretty positive that even your friends or family members who usually prefer the fried version will go “poco loco” over this dish. :)
Stay tuned for more healthy recipes to come this month on Gimme Some Oven. And cheers to a great 2014 ahead!
Skinny Orange Chicken
Ingredients
Orange Chicken Ingredients:
- 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- orange chicken sauce (ingredients below)
- toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, orange zest
Orange Chicken Sauce Ingredients:
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. white pepper
- zest of one orange
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
(Optional: Quinoa Ingredients)
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
To Make The Orange Chicken:
- Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through.
- Pour in the orange chicken sauce, and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil, then boil for an additional minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat and serve immediately over quinoa or rice. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and additional orange zest.
To Make The Orange Chicken Sauce:
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If you would like the sauce to be even sweeter, add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of honey.
To Make The Quinoa:
- You can see my step-by-step photo tutorial for how to cook quinoa here https://axis-sanctum.live/how-to-cook-quinoa-recipe/%3C/a%3E.%3C/div%3E%3C/li%3E%3C/ul%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Be sure to also check out these related recipes:
How To Cook Quinoa (A Step-By-Step Tutorial)
At first I was a little taken aback by the amount of honey – it sounds great, but “skinny’? 500 plus calories of honey does not equal “skinny”.
But on a per serving basis, that is only 125 to 80 calories (4 or 6 servings). Perhaps not “skinny”, but not as bad as I first thought
I made this tonight for dinner & it was sooooo good!
Were can I find rice wine vinegar? I have been looking for months and I can’t find any. This recipe sounds so good!
In the Asian food section. Depending on your store it could also be in the condiment section or where other vinegars are located.
Rice Wine Vinegar is generally near the soy sauce in the Asian section. It’s possible it’s with the other vinegars, but I’ve always found it in the Asian foods section at my local grocery store (Kroger). I LOVE rice wine vinegar.
Should be in the aisle with the regular vinegar….usually on the top shelf. May find it in the international aisle.
I bought mine at Meijer. Check in the international food section or ask a worker. I’d guess any grocery store would have it. GL
The Orange Chicken recipe is great. Can’t wait to make it! Also wanted to comment on the photography. It is awesome! The pictures make my mouth water. They are exceptional!
Do you think I could make this like a freezer meal with the chicken already cubed, and a packet alongside with the sauce ingredients mixed, but not yet cooked? Would the quinoa freeze well? I would really love to be able to come home and pop these ingredients directly into a skillet/micro and serve dinner 15 minutes later!
I’m so excited that your doing a month of healthy recipes, and starting with this stellar orange chicken recipe! Looks so good!
I love orange chicken and this looks infinitely better than any take out option! Happy New Year!
I am so excited for your month of healthy recipes!!!!! And you know I love anything with Asian flavors. This is so right up my alley! Happy New Year friend!
Love this recipe! I’ve been looking for new dinner ideas, and I’m definitely trying this sometime soon! Happy New Year, Ali!
This dish looks amazing. I love orange chicken but always feel a bit off when I get it out, mainly with the frying. I know this will be a new family favorite.