Sticky caramelized orange chicken
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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!
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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
- ½ chicken breast (cut in small chunks)
- 2 baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
- ½ 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
This post was originally published on November 14 ,2017
Love this! Totally going to have to make this recipe 🙂 Perfect for a delicious weeknight dinner!
Orange chicken has always been one of my favorites. This looks like a much healthier version!!
Orange with chicken is such a simple combination - and so good! That looks delicious, and I'm sure your kids love it!
Here in New York City, a few of our farmer's markets do stay open all year. A few years ago that meant apples and more apples... but in the last few years they've been growing and selling more root and other storage crops. Great to be able to get rutabaga and kohlrabi all winter (and of course, apples...) Still not the same as fresh out of the fields, though.
Yummy! i've been looking for some new easy dinner meals and ran into this one! Looks amazing! My husband will love it!
Wonderful recipe of my favorite chicken! Orange chicken has been my daughter's fav!
I love the color on this chicken dish. I must be honest I have never made orange and chicken combination yet. Think I'll try soon. Thanks, looks like a great recipe.
What a delicious looking chicken recipe! Orange chicken is one of my favorites!
I live in Southern California, so we have Farmer's Markets all year long. The size shrinks during the winter months, but they're always open. I love that I can get fresh, seasonal produce all year long. I often think about people who live on the East Coast who don't have the same opportunities.
This recipe looks delicious, and it also sounds much healthier than the stuff we buy at the Chinese fast food places.
My family loves orange chicken and I love that this recipe is quick and easy! Pinned for a future weeknight dinner!
YUM! This looks like a healthier version of my favorite orange chicken! I like that it isn't fried but is still really flavorful!