This Air Fryer 🍊 Orange Chicken 🐔is my ultimate go-to dish for meal prep. It’s tangy and savoury and a little bit spicy. The zesty 🍊orange sauce is made with fresh orange juice, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and chilli flakes. The 🐔chicken breast is tenderised, then air fried to a beautiful golden crispiness. It’s perfect with fragrant 🍚rice!
Cut the green part of 1 spring onion thinly (about 3mm) for garnish.
1 spring onion
Grate 1 knob ginger to make 1 tsp grated ginger.Mince 2 cloves garlic.
2 cloves garlic, 1 knob ginger
Squeeze 2 oranges to make1 cup of orange juice. Then sieve to remove the pulp. Grate the oranges to get the Orange zest.
2 oranges, Orange zest
In a small bowl, whisk 1 tbsp corn starch with 2 tbsp water to make a slurry.
1 tbsp corn starch, 2 tbsp water
Make the orange sauce
In a medium non-stick pan, warm 1 tbsp vegetable oil over low heat. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until aromatic.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Add orange juice, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and 0.25 tsp red chilli flakes. Bring to boil.Add slurry to orange sauce and stir well. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Once the sauce is thickened enough to cost a spoon, add orange zest, then remove from heat. Keep the sauce warm while we prepare to air fry the chicken.
Air fry the chicken
Cut 600 g chicken breasts or thighs into inches.This is an optional step. Add 1.5 tbsp baking soda to chicken to tenderise it for 30 minutes. Then rinse off the baking soda under running water. Pat dry with paper towel.
600 g chicken breasts or thighs, 1.5 tbsp baking soda
Coat the meat with 1 tsp salt. Then coat the meat evenly with 0.5 cup corn starch.
0.5 cup corn starch, 1 tsp salt
Brush a thin layer of 0.5 cup vegetable oil all over the chicken pieces.
0.5 cup vegetable oil
Pre-heat the air fryer for 3 min at 180C / 356F.Place the chicken pieces into the air fryer, try not to overlap the meat.
Air fry for 15 minutes at 180C /356F.Toss the chicken every 4-5 minutes during air frying to ensure the chicken cooks evenly.
Air fry the chicken until golden brown and crispy. Note: if frying in a pan, heat vegetable oil in a heavy-based deep pan over medium-high heat. Ensure the oil covers the chicken pieces fully. Then fry the chicken until golden brown and crispy.
Assemble the dish
Toss the crispy chicken into the orange sauce and coat evenly.
Garnish with the spring onion and Orange zest. Best served warm with rice.
Orange zest
Video
Notes
For meal prepping for the week in advance:
Pack cooked Jasmine rice and the orange chicken into individual boxes, add sides of tomatoes, and garnish with orange slices on the side.
Keep in the chiller for up to 2-3 days. Or in the freezer for up to a week.
To serve, heat in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.