Orange Chicken & Fried Rice

Looking for a tasty yet slightly healthier version of Orange Chicken? Look no further, this recipe is packed with fresh ingredients and fresh flavor. Follow sling for a great weekend recipe!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1-2 pounds of chicken tenders
1 bag of frozen rice, mixed with veggies
1 tbsp orange zest (1 large orange)
1/4 cup lemon juice (1 large lemon)
1 cup flour
2 tbsps orange juice
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 tbsps cornstarch
1/3 cup sodium and sugar free rice vinegar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp minced Garlic
1/2 tsp powder ginger
red pepper flakes to taste
Olive oil

WHAT TO DO:

Microwave frozen rice as directed on package. Once finished, store rice in refrigerator. Slice chicken tenders into small cubes.

Add diced chicken to a gallon sized ziplock bag. Roll lemon to soften it up and slice. Squeeze juice from lemon and add to a pot. Add water, orange juice, orange zest, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to the same pot.

Cover pot with lid and over medium high heat bring sauce up to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and let it cool. Pour 1 cup of sauce into measuring cup.

Add cup of sauce to ziplock bag of chicken.

Place chicken in fridge and let it marinate at least 2 hours.

When Chicken is ready to cook, remove from fridge and place on counter. In a bowl add flour, salt and pepper.

Stir flour to combine and drop in marinated chicken pieces. Discard leftover sauce in ziplock bag.

Use tongs to thoroughly coat chicken with flour. Over medium high heat, add olive oil to large skillet and let it heat up. Shake off excess flour and drop chicken pieces into skillet.

Heat up remaining sauce over medium heat. In a separate cup add 2-3 tbsps of cornstarch and 1-2 tbsps of water. Stir vigorously until combined, set aside. Once sauce is boiling, reduce heat and pour in cornstarch slurry. Mix well and let sauce simmer to thicken.

Fry chicken until golden brown and no pink is inside.

Add a paper towel to a large bowl and pour chicken in to drain.

After chicken is drained, wipe out skillet and pour chicken and sauce into skillet.

Stir chicken and sauce and add lid.

In a separate skillet add a little olive or sesame oil. Add cold rice/veggie mix and a couple of dashes of soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Fry rice for several minutes and if wanting to add a egg you do so at this point. Scramble egg in rice and serve hot – we opted to omit egg.