Promise me you will make and enjoy these crispy orange chicken lettuce wraps. Whether you wrap em’ in lettuce or not, be sure to give yourself this mouth party sooner than later.
I am such a fan of Asian inspired sauces especially on weeknights when I really don’t want to put much effort into dinner. Should I start talking about this mouth watering sweet-tangy-spicy Asian orange sauce or the fact this crispy chicken is GA-LUTEN FREE.
The crispy chicken is inspired by Ree Drummond’s Orange Chicken recipe where she lets the chicken marinate in a combination of egg whites and corn starch before frying. There are lots of corn starch brands that ensures gluten free starch, with Argo being one of them which is great because it’s one of the more popular brands anyways.
The sauce in my recipe is not Ree’s, but does have similar ingredients. Unfortunately the sauce is not gluten free since it does have a good amount of soy sauce, but the GF crispy chicken is always good to have in the back of your mind.
The sauce is nothing more than what you would typically find in your Asian sauces. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, fresh orange juice, and my secret punch of orange marmalade. You can find orange marmalade in tiny jars so don’t worry about buying a whole 15 oz. jar if you only need two tablespoons. I use flavored marmalade in almost all of my sauces. It’s packed with flavor and zest which is all I want in life.
The chicken is the most time consuming part but so so worth it. I didn’t try baking this, but if you do want to bake I would roll the chicken in a breadcrumb opposed to cornstarch.
After the sauce has simmered away and thickened with cornstarch, toss it with the chicken and start getting together your fixings. I wrapped mine up in bib lettuce and garnished with chili pepper, cilantro, and sesame seeds. You can easily add some scallions and serve over a bed of rice or my latest obsession: quinoa fried rice.
Enjoy!
- For the Crispy Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts or thighs - cut into thin strips or cubes (see notes below)
- 4 egg whites
- 2 T. cornstarch (preferably Argo brand)
- canola oil
- 2 large oranges - juiced
- 2 T. orange marmalade
- 1/4 c. plus 2 T. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. brown sugar (can use honey for natural)
- 1/4 c. rice vinegar
- 1 t. sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1 t. ginger - minced
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 T. cornstarch
- 1/4 c. water
- Brown Rice
- Bib Lettuce
- Cilantro
- Chili Peppers
- Sesame Seeds
- Mix together the egg whites and cornstarch until frothy. Add the chicken and let soak for 20-30 minutes.
- Add enough oil in a pot or pan to cover 1". Heat to medium-high.
- Once hot, add the chicken and cook until brown and crispy - about 3-4 minutes on each side depending on how big your pieces are.
- Add the orange juice, marmalade, and sugar to a sauce pan and heat until sugar has melted. Add everything else besides the water and cornstarch and bring to a simmer.
- In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water then add to the sauce. Allow to simmer until thickened. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Toss with the crispy chicken.
- Serve in lettuce wraps with desired garnishes or over brown rice with scallions. This sauce also works great on salmon or shrimp!
- Either breast or thighs will work fine, but thighs will be a little more flavorful (I prefer them).
- You can also dip this an a regular eggwash/breadcrumb mixture if you want a thicker bread coating.
