Paleo Orange Chicken
Chinese food, without the MSG.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces)
- 3 T fat (coconut oil works well here)
- juice of 2 oranges*
- zest from 1 orange
- 1 t fresh ginger
- 3 T coconut aminos or wheat-free soy sauce
- 1 t chili garlic sauce or sriracha
- 3 green onions, chopped
Method
In a medium size sauce pot, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, coconut aminos and chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Set over medium heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken cooks. In a saute pan, heat 3 T of the fat of your choice, over medium high heat. Add the chopped chicken thighs and cook until a nice brown crust has developed on the chicken pieces, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce pot and stir to coat with the orange sauce. Serve topped with sliced green onions. *Taste your oranges. If they don’t taste orange-y, then neither will this dish. Use tangerines if you gotta or add a teaspoon of sweetener until you’re satisfied with the flavor.
I made this last night, adding stir fry veges and only used 2 tbls of soy because I am sodium sensitive. My sauce was not thick, but that did not matter because it was SO DELICIOUS! MY husband and I loved it. This will be a favorite on my weekly menu. Thank you, thank you, thank you:)
Okay so I found out how to make it thicken..you can’t really thicken sauce in a deep sauce pan (at least I can’t haha), so what I do is I pour it into something shallow like a skillet, and let it simmer and reduce that way. You can cover it with a pot cover too and it will thicken. Worked like a charm! Never worked the other way for me (pouring the chicken into the sauce pan)..I had to pour the sauce in the chicken pan. But be careful because you could overcook the chicken trying to reduce it this way.
My son’s girlfriend made this last night – Delicious! (go Rose!).. how many servings does this recipe yield?
this was nothing short of amazing! perfect blend of spice, heat, sweet, and savory. definitely going to be a weekly staple!
Can I substitute the chicken thighs for breasts?
Thanks!
For sure!
What would be a good side for this dish? I was thinking of putting it on cauliflower rice, but my husband doesn’t like cauliflower…..
Libby – we’ve done the recipe twice and I do over a broccoli and carrots steamed or stirfried.
I have a large family (6 of us) and I was wondering how many servings this recipe made so I know how many times to double it. Thanks! I am really looking forward to making this one.
I didn’t have sriracha, so I used Thai red chili paste and it was boooommmmmb.com! I also sautéed red onion, red bell pepper, and carrots with the chicken, which I highly recommend. Great recipe!
[...] Island chicken Chicken cacciatore Hearty beef stew Beef/chicken fajitas Balsamic glazed chicken Orange chicken Honey garlic chicken Beef tips Teriyaki [...]
made this for dinner tonight. threw in some cashews and served it over a bed of lightly steamed veggies….. freaking awesome!!!!
just wondering in the recipe what does the T stand for – tablespoon/teaspoon
Capital T is Tablespoon
There is a lingo on the bottom of the site
Had this for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious. I used chicken breast and added in some California blend veggies after reading one of the comments saying she used stir fry veggies. There was plenty of sauce to go around and it was very, very, tasty.
Made four packages of Island Chicken, using Key Lime juice instead of Lemon, and then made the orange sauce for the orange chicken. It’s awesome. Just the right amount of sweet and heat. Those 8 packages are already in the freezer and the chicken tacos are simmering away in the crockpot to be served for dinner tonight, with enough for another dinner in the freezer. Love your site and have bookmarked it to explore further. Thanks so much. My kitchen smells wonderful and my husband is happy he doesn’t have to cook on those days I work 12 hour shifts.
Made this for dinner tonight along with some steamed sugar snap peas tossed with a little sesame oil & seeds. Fabulous! Definite winner. Thank you so much!
Hey odd question, what font do you use for your headings?
Thanks!
Doesn’t sriracha have sugar in it?
For those who asked about thickening the sauce, I used a little coconut flour and that did the trick. I imagine almond flour might have the same effect. Very tasty, thanks for sharing!
[...] paleo orange chicken [...]
What about chicken breasts? Sounds like some have used it based on comments/
Made this twice already! Love it!
SO good! I mean SO SO good.
Did anybody substitute the siracha or chili garlic sauce with a different hot sauce? Both sauces in the recipe have sugar. Please share what you subbed with. Thanks.
I made this the other night and it was AMAZING. Blanca as another poster noted above, they used curry paste, which I think would work here too, though you’d have to play with the amount to get the right level of spicy. This one doesn’t appear to contain sugar: http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Kitchen-Curry-Paste-4-Ounce/dp/B000LKVSDM
We made this tonight and it was great! I sautéed the chicken in a skillet until almost done and then took it out and poured the sauce in and stirred with a whisk in the skillet to get all the browned bits incorporated, kind of like making gravy. Then I cooked it down, stirring occasionally until it turned a darker color and was glossy and thick. This took 5-10 minutes. Then I added the chicken back and stirred together long enough for the chicken to rewarm. Served with steamed broccoli and carrots and sliced pineapple. Yum!
Just made this recipe and added some sliced habanero peppers which gave it a serious kick! If allowed to reduce, the sauce is amazing… thank you so much for sharing!
How much orange juice should u be using, 1/3 if a cup? Just wondering:)
Awesome recipe! Much more savory (and obviously much healthier) than Chinese take-out. My Louisiana-born hubby loved the sriracha heat & I’m a Florida girl so orange makes me happy
The sauce didn’t quite glaze up as expected, but after reading the other comments I’ll try it in a little pan not a sauce pot next time. Yes – definitely a next time. FYI: google tells me a medium orange is normally 1/4 cup, so 2 would be 1/2 cup by YMMV. Thanks ya’ll!!!!