This is an original recipe created by Ben.  We made it to serve a crowd (8 adults and 4 kids) so if you have a family of 5, half it.  Or invite over some friends and they’ll be friends for life.

We started with a half gallon of natural squeezed orange juice (store bought-look for a quality brand)  heated to a boil in a sauce pan.  Zest an orange into it and add your minced ginger and garlic.  Stir and then let this simmer for an hour.  The mixture will reduce down to a concentrated orange sauce.  You can leave it simple like that OR add 3 T sesame oil and 1T of rice vinegar.

While your sauce is cooking, you can prepare the chicken.  We used boneless chicken thigh meat for the flavor, but boneless skinless breasts will also do the trick.  Cut them into small chunks and place into a bowl.  Sprinkle a cup or so of cornstarch into a shallow dish.  You’ll be breading your chicken in cornstarch.  WHAT!?  I know, I had never done it either.  But, it absorbs less oil and maintains a crisp even while drenched in sauce.

Below, you’ll see the step by step process of Ben coating the chicken in cornstarch, then shaking off the excess through his fingertips.  He cooked them in small batches in vegetable oil over medium high heat and drained them on a paper towel.

Add a few tablespoos of cornstarch to 1/3 cup water and mix well.  Add this to the orange sauce and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken.  In a new saute pan, add the cooked chicken and your sauce.  Boil it down for additional 5 minutes and you’re ready to serve!  We made a kid version and an adult version with the addition of chile flakes for a little heat.

I normally always make brown rice, but this was the time to splurge.  We made white jasmine rice with a 2-3 ratio for sticky rice.  So if you are using 1 cup of water, add 2/3 cups of rice.   Also make sure that you season the water beforehand (salt and pepper to taste).  That’s a pro tip right there!

Steamed broccoli rounds out the meal.  I’m not kidding you, we devoured this stuff!  The flavors were so amazing!  I’m learning from Ben that quality ingredients go a long way.  You don’t need fancy techniques.  Simple prep is the way to go!

Ben’s thinking about starting his own blog for his original recipes.  He started writing recipes, well when he learned how to write.  (Hello, child genius.) Brent and I love eating his food and the chance to cook with him and learn so much was a treat!  So…if you want to see more recipes and kitchen tips highlighted here, holla back!

Orange Chicken: serves 10-12

1/2 gallon orange juice (store bought-quality brand)

zest of one orange

2 T. minced garlic

2 T. minced ginger

1 T. rice vinegar (optional)

3 T. sesame oil (optional)

red chile flakes to taste (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

4 pounds boneless skinless thigh meat, cut in 1″ chunks

1 cup cornstarch (feel free to use more if you need it)

vegetable oil for frying

(directions above)