Gluten Free Crispy Chinese Orange Chicken!
This recipe is a fresh & real ingredient take on Chinese orange chicken! Using a real orange vs. an orange marmalade gives it a freshly made cleaner flavor! The quick takeout version of orange chicken tends to be made from only processed ingredients so that flavor of this one might taste a bit different to you! I personally prefer the brightness that comes with using orange juice and zest!
Combined with extra crispy chicken- this is a meal you'll want to make many times!
How to make this recipe Sugar Free:
To make the sauce sugar free: Swap out the regular sugar/ honey for sugar free honey + add 1/4 Tsp of Liquid Stevia or Liquid Monkfruit.
Let’s talk about the sweetener options: Keto honey really isn’t a known ingredient…YET. I did a deep search on Amazon for it and since I found the first brand awhile back, a few more have come on the scent. My current favorites are:
The Nature’s Hollow brand can cause a little bit of digestive upset for some people, but not everyone. The other two are really gentle on your stomach. All 3 brands will work great in this recipe. Make sure you don’t skip the liquid stevia/monk fruit extract, either as it will bring the sweetness to the perfect level. Combining sugar free sweeteners really helps to create a more traditional balanced sweetness that your tastebuds expect.
How to make it SOY FREE:
Simply swap out soy sauce for liquid aminos! :) Easy peasy.
Flour Options:
Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend. This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. I cant live without for my bread recipes & have found it works exceptionally well in cookies too! .
What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.
Better Batter so kindly offered me a 30% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell30
While I did not test it out- I think that King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour would be worth trying with 1/8 tsp of xanthan or guar gum added!
Feel free to experiment with other brands and please come back and let me know how it turned out!!
Gluten Free Crispy Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 Chicken Breast OR 4-5 Chicken Thighs (boneless/skinless)
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Pepper
- 1/2 Cup Tapioca or Potato Starch (corn starch or arrowroot will work too)
- 1/2 Cup Better Batter Gluten Free Flour Original Blend
- 2 Tsp Potato Flour (optional but highly recommended!)
- 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1-2 Large Eggs (Or 3-6 Tbsp of 'Just Egg' replacement)
- 1 Large Orange. Zest & Squeeze all of its juice (discarding any seeds).
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Gluten Free Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos for Soy free.
- 1/2 Cup Honey Or Organic Cane Sugar
- 2 Finely Minced Garlic Cloves (2 Tsp)
- 2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 Tsp Starch
Instructions
- Add to to a heavy duty pot several inches of mild flavored/high heat friendly oil. Place heat on medium and allow it to slowly heat up while preparing the chicken. The Ideal temperature range is 375-380 degrees.
- Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and toss it with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the breading. Whisk 1-2 eggs in one bowl. In a second bowl combine the Starch, gluten free all purpose flour, potato flour, salt & pepper.
- Double bread the chicken. First toss in the flour mixture, then coat the chicken with the eggs making sure to allow excess to drip off. Then place the chicken again into the flour mixture fully covering it. Set on a plate and allow it to sit for a few minutes. If theres extra breading- feel free to toss the chicken in once more- especially if there are any wet spots from the egg.
- Fry the chicken: Depending on the size of your pan- fry in 1/3 to 1/2 at a time. Fry for 8-9 minutes until lightly golden brown and cooked through. Place on a plate with a paper towel so that the excess oil can drain off.
- Make the sauce: Zest the orange adding it to a small sauce pan and then squeeze in the orange juice discarding of any seeds. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients to the pan and simmer on medium low for 10 minutes or so until thickened whisking often.
- Toss the sauce with the chicken & serve over rice! Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days.
