Orange Chicken

I got this yummy recipe from Paul's sister, Jill. It does take some prep work before dinner but it is all worth it. I had time one day to make the marinate but that night we didn't end up making it dinner so it marinated for three days which tasted awesome. I would say this recipe is better than any orange chicken we've tried. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

· Sauce:
· 1 1/2 cups water
· 2 tablespoons orange juice
· 1/4 cup lemon juice
· 1/3 cup rice vinegar
· 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
· 1 cup packed brown sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
(I just used 1/4 tsp ground ginger from McCormick because I don't
really like the taste of fresh ginger)
· 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
· 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
· 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

· 3 tablespoons cornstarch
· 2 tablespoons water

· Chicken:
· 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 teaspoon pepper
· 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.

Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step from Jill. I dipped my cut up chicken pieces in egg BEFORE I shook it in the flour mixture. It made the breading not fall off as it was simmering in the orange sauce. I didn't use all the cornstarch mixture either. I just added it until the sauce was the consistency that I liked. Not to thick, not to runny. Also, I ran out of red pepper flakes so I didn't add them in when I brought you dinner. If you like them, go for it.