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Sticky, sweet, tasty caramelized orange chicken that is so full of citrus flavor. A great healthy dinner idea for the whole family, especially kids, they love this chicken.
We just love caramelizing in this house. In a last few weeks i already tried to make: Sweet caramelized pork with rice and Caramelized sweet beef with rice. Easy peasy and delicious.
Healthy orange chicken
I created this recipe trying to make it as healthy as possible but still flavorful and tasty. My kids are growing super fast and i want to provide them with the best nutritious meals i possibly can.
What makes this recipe healthy? Of course ingredients and a cooking method. I am using a tiny amount of olive oil for sauteing chicken. No flour or cornstarch! Also you will not find orange concentrate or orange preserves in this sticky chicken, only natural ingredients.
Chicken thighs or breast?
Thighs are probably the most common option for this dish, but since we are making a healthy alternative, we will be using the breast. It has way less fat and much more protein. Building muscles while enjoying all the flavors!
I added some brown sugar to the sauce to help it caramelize a bit better on the pan.
The most important part of this recipe is probably oranges. Avoid using orange concentrate or any other substitutions. Fresh orange will give this dish a fresh citrus flavor and outstanding aroma. I used delicious California oranges from my local store. Always trying to use local produce in my cooking!
To reduce the amount of salt used in this recipe, try to switch regular soy sauce to a reduced sodium. You can find it in about any store. By the way, green onions that are covering this sticky orange chicken are from my backyard.
You can easily grow them right on your kitchen window too! Just place yellow onion in to the water half way and wait until the green part will start growing from the top! Garnish is always ready!
Caramelized orange chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 chicken breast (cut in small chunks)
- 2 baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
- 1/2 onion (diced)
- 1 orange (cut in chunks)
- 1 orange (juiced)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- olive oil for the pan
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onions to the skillet and stir, cook for about 3 minutes until very fragrant.
- Add mushrooms and chicken and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until browned on all sides.
- Switch heat to medium-low. Add orange juice, orange pieces, brown sugar and soy sauce. stir and cook for about10-15 minutes until sauce thickened.
- Once done serve over rice and garnish with chopped green onions
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.
This post was originally published on November 14 ,2017
Kristie Kou
Thursday 22nd of October 2020
Hi, will the breast meat taste dry and tough? Flavours sounds great though :)
Agness of Run Agness Run
Tuesday 28th of November 2017
Yum! This seems like an awesome recipe for a family gathering, Tatiana. This is going to be our new favourite family dish! What kind of onion do you use?
Tatiana Shifruk
Tuesday 28th of November 2017
Thanks a lot! I used just a regular yellow onion, my favorite. I think red onion will work too:)
Sues
Sunday 19th of November 2017
Love this quick and easy dinner! It looks so flavorful :)
Christine
Sunday 19th of November 2017
Love this! Totally going to have to make this recipe :) Perfect for a delicious weeknight dinner!
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago
Sunday 19th of November 2017
Orange chicken has always been one of my favorites. This looks like a much healthier version!!