Make takeout at home with air fryer orange chicken! Crispy chicken bites are tossed with a sweet and sticky orange sauce to create this Chinese American favorite.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Total Time20 minutesmins
Servings: 3
Ingredients
1poundboneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
2tablespoonscornstarch
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonblack pepper
Orange Sauce Ingredients
½cuporange juice
2tablespoonssugar
1tablespoonvinegar
1tablespoonsoy sauce
¼teaspoongarlic powder
¼teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes
1tablespooncornstarch
1tablespooncold water
Optional Garnish
green onions
sesame seeds
Instructions
Set the air fryer to preheat at 350 °F for 5 minutes.
Put the meat in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (do not include the cornstarch the in sauce ingredients), salt, and pepper. Stir to coat the pieces thoroughly. If you want the chicken to be extra crispy, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil or spray it with cooking spray.
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Put the meat in the air fryer and cook at 350 °F for 5 minutes.
While it cooks, make the sauce. Combine the orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper in a saucepan.
½ cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Cook on medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture just starts to boil. Reduce the heat to low.
In a shallow bowl, mix the remaining cornstarch with water. Add this cornstarch slurry to the saucepan. Keep stirring, so it doesn't get lumpy. Cook for about 2 more minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove the sauce from the heat.
1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon cold water
After the initial 5 minutes of air frying time is done, flip the chicken pieces over and cook for another 3-5 minutes until it is cooked through and golden brown. Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the meat has reached 165 °F.
Once the chicken is done, add it to the pan with the orange sauce and stir so that the sauce evenly coats the pieces.
Serve with rice and green onions.
green onions, sesame seeds
Notes
Preheat the air fryer for the crispiest chicken.
If jumping back and forth between making the sauce and air frying seems too confusing, make the sauce first, then air fry the meat.
Check the internal temperature of a few of the largest pieces of meat when checking for doneness.