Orange Chicken Crispy Bites (Printer-friendly)

Crispy fried chicken pieces coated in a vibrant orange sauce with a balanced sweet and tangy taste.

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 1.3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 1/2 cup cornstarch
04 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
06 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
07 - Vegetable oil, for frying (approximately 1.5 inches deep)

→ Orange Sauce

08 - 3/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
09 - 2 tablespoons orange zest
10 - 1/4 cup soy sauce
11 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
12 - 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
13 - 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
14 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
15 - 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
16 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
17 - 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water (slurry)

→ Garnishes (optional)

18 - 2 spring onions, sliced
19 - 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

# How To Make It:

01 - Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into egg, then dredge in flour mixture to coat thoroughly.
02 - Heat vegetable oil to 350°F (175°C) in a deep skillet or wok. Fry chicken in batches for 4 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels.
03 - In a saucepan, combine orange juice, zest, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
04 - Whisk in cornstarch slurry and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until sauce thickens and becomes glossy.
05 - Add fried chicken to sauce and toss to coat evenly. Cook 2 minutes to heat through.
06 - Transfer to serving platter and garnish with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • That crispy-outside, tender-inside chicken texture is genuinely addictive and surprisingly easy to nail once you know the trick.
  • The sauce strikes this perfect balance between sweet, tangy, and savory that makes even plain rice feel celebratory.
  • You can have this on the table in under an hour, which means weeknight dinners suddenly feel way more special than they should.
02 -
  • Room temperature chicken pieces fry way more evenly than cold ones pulled straight from the fridge, and they stay crispier longer.
  • Fresh orange juice makes an actual difference here—concentrate or bottled juice tastes thin and one-dimensional by comparison, and you're only using two oranges anyway.
  • If your sauce breaks and looks separated, you overheated it or added the slurry too fast; just chill it five minutes and whisk it back together.
03 -
  • If you want to go lighter, baking the coated chicken at 220°C for 20-25 minutes gives you decent texture without the oil commitment, though you'll lose a bit of that shatter-crisp magic.
  • Make the sauce while the chicken fries so everything comes together in one dramatic moment instead of scrambling at the end, which is how you stay calm and keep things tasting great.
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