Hajar Larbah

Panda Express Orange Chicken Copycat

5 from 19 votes

Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
55 mins
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Panda Express Orange Chicken Copycat

Orange chicken is one of my favorite dishes when I’m craving something sweet AND savory! Let’s make it at home and even better than Panda Express.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
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Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1.5 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • salt and pepper

Orange Glaze

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup water + 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Other

  • vegetable oil for frying
  • green onions and sesame seeds optional garnish

Instructions 

  1. Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
  2. In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, sprinkle of salt, and sprinkle of black pepper to taste.
  3. In small deep bowl, whisk together eggs, sprinkle of salt, and sprinkle of black pepper to taste.
  4. Dip a few chicken pieces at a time first in the wet batter, letting any excess drip off, and then into the dry, shaking off any excess. Set on a plate and finish breading all the chicken.
  5. Over medium-high heat, add soy sauce, orange juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, minced ginger, and red pepper flakes to a pot. Bring to a simmer and then pour in the cornstarch slurry (water and cornstarch whisked together) to thicken into a glaze. Once it is thick, take off the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.
  6. Heat vegetable oil to 350°F in a frying pan. Drop the breaded chicken in, making sure not to overcrowd. Fry in two batches. Once golden, about 4 minutes, take out of the oil and drain on a paper towel.
  7. Toss the chicken in the glaze.
  8. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy with rice or noodles!

Notes

  • Instead of using chicken thighs, you can use breast, tofu, or even beef!
  • To enhance the orange taste, add some orange zest into the glaze after it thickens.

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out. I love hearing from you!

Rate & Review

Recipe Rating




39 people are discussing this recipe. Join in

  1. Mercy’s
    Reply

    5 stars
    I made it it was very delicious

    1. hajarlarbah@gmail.com
      Reply

      so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you!

  2. Melanie
    Reply

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Shared with my sisters and told them to make it too!

    1. hajarlarbah@gmail.com
      Reply

      Thank you Melanie! Glad it was a hit!

      1. Taco
        Reply

        Hi! Could you also grill your chicken instead of frying it? I am nog a big fan of frying, so for you have any alternatives?

    2. Tatiana
      Reply

      5 stars
      Made it for my boyfriend and his friends and they loved it!

    3. Nicole
      Reply

      I used your sauce recipe, minus the red pepper flakes, we love it! Delicious! Thank you!

  3. Divinia
    Reply

    Hi! If I can’t find rice vinegar or sesame oil what are substitutes you’d suggest? I’m in Jamaica btw

    1. hajarlarbah@gmail.com
      Reply

      Hi Divinia! If you can’t find rice vinegar, you can substitute it for apple cider vinegar and if not that, then white vinegar. For sesame oil, you can omit it or add sesame seeds on top instead. Hope this helps.

      1. Mya
        Reply

        Loved it! Only thing is I recommend checking how strong your soy sauce is and dialing it down based on the strength. 1/4 cup was wayyy too much for me but other than that: LOVE

  4. Monigo
    Reply

    5 stars
    Delish! I think it does need the zest also I used 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs.

    1. Chloe
      Reply

      5 stars
      Absolutely gorgeous! Dad said he’d never order from a Chinese again as this was so much tastier, thanks for sharing xx

  5. Rubi
    Reply

    5 stars
    I am not a good cook, but this recipe made people believe that I was. The sauce was delicious and it was all so easy to make. My family loved it! Thank you so much.

    1. hajarlarbah@gmail.com
      Reply

      That’s so good to hear Rubi! And you are definitely a good cook! Thank you for sharing.

  6. Evan
    Reply

    5 stars
    I’m not a very experienced cook but I nailed this recipe. My brother who is a fantastic cook was blown away. The glazw was just amazing. Thank you for the recipie :)))

    1. Jamie
      Reply

      5 stars
      As someone who worked as a cook at panda express awhile ago this was extremely similar and sooo yummy! To make the taste even closer to panda express use orange extract and sub out the brown sugar for white! I would say that I like the taste and recipe of this chicken way better! It was so much fresher and balanced.

  7. Jia
    Reply

    Do you recommend using fresh orange juice or bottled orange juice is ok?

    1. hajarlarbah@gmail.com
      Reply

      I personally would stick to squeezing your own oranges because bottled juice has added sugar! If you can only use bottled, just adjust the sugar accordingly 🙂

      1. Candace
        Reply

        Hi Hajar! Do you use freshly squeezed orange juice or store bought? Thanks ?

  8. Hana
    Reply

    5 stars
    Super good! My boyfriend and I are addicted to make this recipe

    1. hajarlarbah@gmail.com
      Reply

      That’s AMAZING YAY!

    2. Adi
      Reply

      5 stars
      Hi, Is there a lighter version of it?? As in can i just pan fry the chicken instead of deep fry. Thank you for the recipes.

  9. Ish
    Reply

    Can we swap the orange to lemon, to turn it into lemon chicken?

    Also, can you please put up a recipe for honey chicken like the one in restaurants with the crispy honey coating? 🙂

  10. Aubrey M
    Reply

    5 stars
    Perfect recipe! The sauce was really lovely. I added a couple tablespoons of chopped oranges as well (since I cut open two oranges before realizing I only needed one orange’s worth of juice) and it added some nice texture to the final dish. Thank you! 😀

  11. Anna
    Reply

    Really good! I love the glaze. I did it with chicken but I would try with tofu too!

  12. Maaaaartje
    Reply

    5 stars
    I like the recipe so much, me and my family are addicted

  13. Diana
    Reply

    How would you recommend cooking the chicken in an air fryer ?!

  14. Fatima
    Reply

    4 stars
    hey!! what would you recommend as a substitute for cornstarch?

  15. Sierra
    Reply

    Is it okay to marinate the chicken mixture overnight?

  16. Sana
    Reply

    Do you have to immediately add the fried chicken to the sauce or can you wait for a few hours?

  17. Kenda
    Reply

    5 stars
    It was AMAZING! and the portion for 3 people was sooo accurate
    loved it and will definitely try more of your recipes. thank you!

  18. Taco
    Reply

    Hi!
    I am not a big fan of frying, so could I also grill the chicken? Or do you have any other alternatives?

  19. Taco
    Reply

    Hi!
    I am not a big fan of frying, could I also grill the chicken? Or do you have any other alternatives for frying?

  20. Chloe
    Reply

    5 stars
    Absolutely gorgeous! Dad said he’d never order from a Chinese again – it was that tasty! Thanks for sharing xx

  21. Ceci
    Reply

    5 stars
    This was soooo good! I felt so proud and happy I can cook something like thiiiiis thank you for sharing with us. <3

  22. Jeea
    Reply

    The taste of rice vinegar was too strong. Not sure if this is a typo but 1/3 cup is alot and I wish I had used half of that.

  23. Sarah
    Reply

    5 stars
    This chicken recipe was sooo delicious thank you for sharing!! I pan fried the chicken in avocado oil in my cast iron skillet. Used coconut sugar instead of brown and cut the sugar in half. Fresh squeezed OJ made it taste delicious and I used einkorn flour instead of all purpose. 10/10 would definitely make again tastes so close to the real panda chicken!!

  24. Alicia
    Reply

    4 stars
    I was craving orange chicken for weeks and this recipe hit the spot! I used freshly squeezed orange juice instead – less sugar and so delicious! My only feedback is this recipe didn’t specify how much how to use so I took a guess and covered the base of the pan. I think next time I’ll try grilling the chicken to cut back on the frying…but such a classic recipe and so easy to follow!

  25. Cherie
    Reply

    5 stars
    Most delicious recipe of orange chicken. Definitely a win for my family of 7. Jazak Allah!

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