Recipe: Panda Express Orange Flavored Chicken

Panda Express Orange Flavored Chicken

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup plus 1 t lemon juice
1/2 tsp minched fresh ginger
1 tsp minnced chopped chestnuts
1/4 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp chopped green onion
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
5 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp arrowroot

Chicken:
4 chicken breast fillets
1 cup ice water
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsifted cake flour

Vegetable oil for frying

Combine all ingredients for sauce--except the cornstarch and arrowroot--in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil.
When sauce reaches a boil, remove it from heat and allow it to cool a cit, uncovered.
Slice chicken breasts into bite-size chicken chunks. Remove exactly 1 cup of the sauce from the pan and pour it over the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or other ocntainer that allows the chicken to be completely covered with the sauce.
Chicken should marinate for at least a couple of hours. Cover remaining sauce and leave it to cool until chicken is ready.
When chicken is marinated, preheat 2" of vegetable oil in a wok or skillet to 350 degrees.
Combine cornstarch with arrowroot in a small bowl, then add 3 tablespoons of water. Stir until cornstarch and arrowroot have dissolved. pour this mixture into the sauce and set the pan over high heat. When sauce begins to bubble and thickens, cover and remove from heat.
Beat together the ice water and egg in med. bowl. Add baking soda and salt. Add 3/4 cup of flour and stir with fork just until the flour is blended into the mixture. The batter will be lumpy.
Sprinkle another 1/4 cup flour on top of this batter and mix with only one or two strokes.
Most of this four will still be floating on top of the mixture. Put the remaining flour (1/2 cup) into a med. bowl. Dipe each piece of chicken first into flour, then into batter. Let some of the batter drip off and then slide the chicken into the oil. Fry up to 1/2 of the chicken pieces at at time, for 3-4 minutes..or until goden brown. Flip the over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the chicken to a rack or paper towels to drain. As the chicken cooks, reheat the sauce left covered on the stove. Stir occasionally. When all the chicken is done, pour it into a large bowl, and cover with the thickened sauce. Stir gently until all the pieces are well coated.

Serve with Rice...if ya want!