
Tofu (firm or extra firm) – Diced to 1/2 to 2/3 inch piecesįor each pound of meat or seafood, mix with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or peanut oil), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.Chicken (skinless boneless breast or thigh) – Diced to 1-inch pieces, or sliced to 1/4-inch thick.Beef (flank steak or short ribs) – thinly slice (1/8 to 1/4-inch thick), or cut to strips.
#3 INGREDIENT ORANGE CHICKEN HOW TO#
(1) Recommended Protein and how to prep for stir frying Simply reheat the sauce in microwave, you can add the sauce in stir fry or on roasted vegetables and protein! Click to image view Chinese orange chicken recipe How to use the sauce Your dish will still taste better than Panda Express. If you want to make this sauce today without it, you can use fresh orange zest instead. You can easily make them at home by air drying fresh tangerine peels. If you have extra rehydrated peels, store soaked peels in a fridge or let them air dry completely before storing them in a bag.ĭon’t have an Asian market nearby? No problem. Or, you can mince them if you like a more refined texture. Once the peels turn soft, slice them into thin strips. Cover with hot water and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Measure them by piling them loosely in a cup (they will expand quite a bit after soaking).

To use dried tangerine skins you need to rehydrate it first. It just makes the whole dish taste much better. But, it has a richer and subtle umami flavor that fresh orange zest cannot provide. The color of the dried peels is not wonderful (it has a brownish color).

Look for labels that have “tangerine peel”, “tangerine skin”, or “old tangerine” on the package. In fact, they get even better (and more expensive) over the years. If you can find dried tangerine peels in your neighborhood Asian market, definitely grab a package. Rather than using orange juice and orange zest, we use rehydrated dried aged tangerine peels to impart a distinctive zesty and citrus flavor to the dish. In China we do not have orange sauce – we call it tangerine sauce instead.
#3 INGREDIENT ORANGE CHICKEN SERIES#
So, I chose to start my stir fry sauce series with it. Orange chicken, orange beef, orange cauliflowers… Orange is one of the most popular flavors on a Chinese restaurant menu. Introducing homemade orange chicken sauce It saves you tons of time, but your everyday dinner will taste different. The benefit of preparing stir fry sauce in bulk is that you can use it to make several meals with totally different main ingredients. You can prepare stir fry sauce beforehand, like on the weekend, so there will be one less thing to do when you’re ready to cook in the week. This is the easiest part, because all you need to do is add all the ingredients in a jar and shake to mix. Today’s lesson is on how to prepare a stir fry sauce.

Moreover, understanding the key techniques will make your meal planning and prepping more flexible, because you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand, instead of hunting down an ingredient just to follow through the recipe.Įven better, I will share all the secrets of how to use stir fry sauce to create quick and healthy meals, without stir-frying! If you get these few tools under your belt, not only can you make your favorite takeout dish in your own kitchen that tastes even better than those in Chinese restaurants, but the whole process will become less intimidating – and the results more delicious! That is – to understand the process of stir frying, how to choose and prep ingredients, and how to make a great stir fry sauce. Over the years, I found out that mastering the few key components of stir frying is much more useful than just learning a recipe.

Making stir fry sauce in advance is the perfect solution. Not only you can use this orange sauce to make orange chicken or a quick stir fry, you can even make roasted vegetables with it! ĭo you want to whip up a healthy dinner on the table on a busy weeknight? Thinking about changing up flavors so dinner won’t be boring again?
