Orange Chicken

I really have needed to go grocery shopping for a few days, but between being sick and not knowing what to cook for Rex's birthday this weekend I have avoided it. Yesterday I really wasn't sure what I would make for dinner. I knew I didn't have a lot of ingredients, so I hunted for a good recipe with the things I still had in the freezer. I buy 2 packs of frozen chicken thighs at a time to use throughout the month and luckily I had just enough to make a decent-sized meal out of it. Through my search of chicken recipes I found orange chicken. Who doesn't love orange chicken? The recipe was for a non-breaded version of the Chinese takeout favorite and I figured it was worth a try. A quick glance through the ingredient list made me a little bummed that I didn't have Chinese five-spice powder on hand so I learned what each of the spices were and what they tasted like to make my own version of it.

Some may know, but I think juice tastes pretty good, however, you will almost never find juice in my refrigerator. It really isn't healthy for you, and I'd rather drink water or iced tea than the slightly better equivalent to soda. If I am visiting a friend I may have a cup of juice, but I treat it as if I were to drink a soda which are occasional drinks, not something to have on hand each day. So when the recipe called for OJ, I thought hmmm...I don't want to run out and buy OJ just for this recipe. Then I remembered that I still had oranges in my fridge. So I got to juice the orange the way my grandma always made OJ when were little. I even got to use her same juicer that I inherited among many of her other belongings.

I seriously love that juicer. It may be old and plastic-y but it does the job its designed to do and that's all I need :) Rex and I ate up the orange chicken. It was great and I highly recommend the recipe. If you don't like spice than just reduce the cayenne! Next time I think I'm going to attempt to bread the chicken and use the sauce as a glaze.

Orange Chicken over steamed rice

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c warm water
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp white vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder*
1 tsp grated orange peel
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 lbs skinless, chicken thigh or breast, cubed

2 c water
1 c uncooked rice

2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water

* Chinese five-spice: equal parts tarragon, clove, cinnamon, fennel or coriander, and cayenne

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, stir together warm water, brown sugar, OJ, soy sauce, ketchup, white vinegar, garlic, cayenne, five-spice powder or the alternative, and orange peel until the sugar has dissolved and is well combined.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet or Wok and cook chicken until the outside is golden brown and inside is no longer pink (10-12 mins). Pour sauce over chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover skillet/Wok for 20-30 mins, stirring occasionally.
3. While the chicken and sauce are simmering, bring the rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the the liquid has been absorbed (20-25 mins). Set rice aside and keep warm.
4. Whisk the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of cold water in a small bowl until smooth, and stir into the chicken and sauce, a few tsp at a time. Let the chicken and sauce cook for another 2 mins to thicken, then serve over rice.

• adapted from allrecipes.com