Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe

It was not as close as I had hoped. However, when I tried it again I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar and less ginger to the sauce (and a couple drops of orange flavoring) and it made a huge difference...was very good.

I tried this recipe, but I was dissapointed because the batter of the chicken came out very soggy eventhough it was very crunchy before I mixed it with the orange sauce. Also, it was not that tasty.

We loved this!! Definately add the orange zest to the sauce before mixing the sauce with chicken. I did add 1 tablespoon orange juice to sauce. Mmmmmm

This recipe is delicious! I made it for our friends and can't wait to serve it again. True, the chicken isn't crispy after I added the sauce, but it wasn't ever crispy at Panda Express, either. I also added some orange juice concentrate, at the end, and it made this an exquisite meal!

the kids love panda express,my son finished the chicken b4 my husband got home from work! it' best if you prepare everything in advance.have your ingredients cut and sauces made, you can measure as you go.after the chicken was gone, i grabbed some frozen chicken breasts from the freezer, put them in water and started the dishes, about 5 min. later i used a fresh pan, a little oil and garlic and ginger. i seasoned them and cooked tightly covered for about 20 min turning halfway through. than i added all the leftover sauce and had something good for my husband who works 2nd. shift!!! yummy

Delicioso!!! I didnt have orange zest but it still turned out delish. My hubby loves it!!!

I made the mistake of substituting the water for orange juice...Not a good idea , simply because it was a bit of an overkill with the orange taste... otherwise good recipie !

there is no orange in this recipe. it can't be right

CDKitchen Note: The author suggests the amount of orange zest in the directions - it is not listed in the ingredient section

Just great! It tasted so much better than the orange chicken at Panda Express, and I used the jars of Iron Chef Orange Sauce and Glaze with Ginger, and General Tso's Sauce and Glaze, and it tasted so much better it was just amazing.

The first time I made this was for some friends and we all loved it. I had improvised a little, and the second time making it I forgot what I changed and made it straight from the recipe...WAY too strong on the ginger. It is a fabulous recipe tho. A keeper!

You have to modify this recipe a little bit. As it reads for 6 servings you Must reduce the amount of ginger to 1/2 tsp.
Use 2 egg whites instead of 1 egg.
Next substitute brown sugar for the sugar and reduce to 4 Tbsp.
Next substitute orange juice for the water, 1 and 1/2 Tbsp.
I also substituted chili paste for the dash of dried chili pepper
Added a green pepper cut into chuncks.
These small modifications to the ingredients will make a huge difference!

This was by far the best copy cat recipe I've made!! Candy chicken. It was so so so delicious! I didn't have the rice wine or chili's but it was absolutely a hit!! I put in green and red peppers at the finish for looks and I did use the orange juice instead of water. Excellent!

YUM! I've made this twice now, with the modifications suggested by bob and a little of my own. For those that like a crispier chicken in the final dish, try reversing the proportions of corn starch and flour. Also, highly recommend doubling the amount of orange sauce (also the water/cornstarch and sesame oil at the end) and letting it reduce just a bit. Very good over fried rice.

took a little longer than 30mins (about 1hr, but i was have stove issues...i was cooking it at my friend's house), and defintly add a little orange juice and zest. Very good served over rice. oh, dont use a full 2 puonds of chicken, use more like 1lb, or double the recipe.

This didn't taste anything like Panda Express Orange Chicken, but it was good. I missed the part about the orange zest. I bet that would have made a difference. If I make this again, I'll use some of Bob's suggestions.

I tried making this last night and it came out great. When it was just about done I tasted it and it needed a little something so I added orange soda instead of juice it tasted terrific

what is plus it says 1/2 cup plus but i dont know what that is?
someone tell me please... ?

previous line. It should read 1 1/2 cups oil for frying, plus you will need some for sauteing

It was okay. I didnt use White Pepper, so im not sure if that made a difference. I most likely messed up. but it helped me from starving!

I was a GM for Panda Express a few years back. First of all they don't use any orange at all on their orange flavor recipie. It's only "basic sauce"(pre maid to keep recipie a secret), sugar (lots), water, and vinigar. Thats it! But man, it tasted great!!!

this is for bob how many punds of chicken did you use and was it enough to serve 7 ppl or more

We tried this recipe using Bobs suggestions and it was very disapointing. This tastes nothing like the Panda Express we have around here. If we were to try it again we definately would leave out the Orange zest. The chicken had that bitter orange peel after taste. It also needed to be a little sweeter, but I don't know what you would use. Perhaps a little more sugar.

Definitely need to double up the sauce for a good flavor. Also, cut the chicken smaller as well. That way the flavor can coat/soak into the meat more.

I have made this for my family countless times and they all love it. I do have a few substitutions I use. I substitute the water for fresh squeezed orange juice and I defintely need more sauce since they all love it plus if you eat the chicken with rice, you need extra. I have even tripled it.

Great recipe!!!!! I love orange chicken and this was by far the best! The whole family loved it! I used a peach wine instead of rice wine and it was great!

I tried making this late one night because i was really hungry and decided to not include a few things and it turned out alright but just wasnt that great, i think though the main problem was i didnt have regular orange chk sauce, i had garlic orange chk sauce so it made it extra garlicly and so thats my fault but besides that its ok...

I made this recipe twice. The first go was OK. The second time I used 2 tablespoons of triple-sec for the orange flavor. Now I am sure Panda doesnt use that but holy cow did it taste perfect. I also took it easy on myself and used Sonics popcorn chicken.

My family has made this tasty dish several times. Every time it has turned out wonderful. We are semi-celebrities in our small community. We have friends over for dinner who are consistently amazed. Great dish.
PS> Add the orange juice and green pepper. How about peanuts too?
Brian

i tried to subtute orange juice for orange soda and gave it a great flavor...something extra this dish took me about 45 minutes to make and i got to make it with some pork fried rice it was grat you should really get more sauce if you make it with rice

I'm going to try this recipe tomorrow night... is the rice wine called for a rice vinegar, or sake...?

CDKitchen Note: Rice wine for cooking is often called Mirin (or Aji Mirin). Do not use rice vinegar or sake. Mirin should be available in any large grocery store that has a half decent Asian food section.

I dont even know how to cook, and I attempted this dish. It turned out awesome. I was always questioning why I needed all these ingredients that I have never heard before, but I added them anyways,it did take me a long time to find them in the store, but I did find them. Now I wish I had a girl friend that I can cook this for. aNYONE HAVE A RECIPE FOR A GIRLFRIEND.

This recipe was great with the following modifications:

Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the 'orange' sauce. It helps balance the flavor of the ginger.

Cook the chicken for 2.5 minutes per side, until lightly browned, in small batches. Change out the oil in the wok after every batch or it'll turn the coating a dark color.

When simmering the sauce down in the wok, add the water and cornmeal before putting the chicken back in the wok. It only takes a minute or two to thicken it; this way it won't make the chicken too soggy. (Putting crispy chicken into a wok and pouring water over it would make it soggy... DUH!)

I really thought this was very good and I didn't even have all the ingredients. I did not have rice wine or green onions, but it was great anyway. I can't wait to try it with all the ingredients. It may not taste exactly the same as Panda Express, but I thought it was close. I may try the sauce with stir fried chicken next time and leave out the flouring and frying step. The sauce is good enough to handle it like that.

I have not tried it yet bet it sounds great.

We liked this recipe a lot, although we did modify it as others did. Our suggestions are to use less ginger, double the sauce and use brown sugar as others did. Instead of using orange zest, which can be bitter, we used a little orange oil. A few drops will do as it has a very pungent flavor.

uhh yes I too work for panda and that is the recipe they use for the sauce...They have now added a very small amount of orange extract. Its about 1/8 tsp for 7 quarts of sauce or something like that. The only difference is panda uses a basic sauce instead of soy sauce...the basic sauce is soy sauce with a few other things added.Not sure what else is added because we just get it in 5 gallon buckets.

Very Delish!

For those of you with the uncrispiness woes:
When making the sauce for the chicken, first bring the sauce up to a boil, and add about about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of flour. Mix and let the sauce thicken up. Then toss the chicken in. This mill make the sauce thicker, and the chicken more crispier because it does not make it as soggy.

I was very disappointed with this recipe. It was horrible and very soggy. It calls for way too much ginger. This was the biggest waste of a time recipe for me. It took a long time and came out nasty. Tastes nothing like panda.

I just made this tonight with a friend - amazing! We both agreed that it was better than what is served at Panda Express! The sauce is perfect in every way and the breading is delicious! Thanks!

What a dish! Everyone at work loved it! I'm not sure if I breaded the chicken correctly. I marinated it in the egg mixture then put it in the flour/cornstarch combo and repeated like I do my fried chicken. My chicken was crunchy after I added the sauce. The only thing I did differently was I stirfry the orange zest before I added the garlic and ginger to add more orange flavor and give it some texture. The sauce is perfect for an authentic Chinese orange sauce. Thanks!!

Very tasty! Did use brown sugar. Omitted corn starch, chilies and orange (due to allergies) Also did not have ginger on hand. But everyone loved it and wanted more! Will definitely have again real soon!!!

A blast to cook. I also used orange juice to replace water and added a tsp of orange extract at the end. bob's suggestion were a big help.

I made this for my family a few nights ago, and it was awesome, I eat at the Panda Express almost everyday and I know how it tastes and this was very close. I have already made it again and love it!

That was perfect! I can`t find orange chicken in Japan and I have been craving it sssoooo badly! It took me a little over an hour to make it, but it was absolutely worth it!
Thanks for the tips! I did orange juice instead of water and I thickened the sauce before adding the chicken. Turned out perfect!

I used this once and really was not satisfied with the results. I then tried Applebees orange chicken and thought it was close to Panda than the listed recipe here. Check it out.

so what is the "Stir in 1 tablespoon oil and sesame oil" for at the end od recipe? Im confused.

Thanks
Angela

We loved this recipe and it was fun to make. I thought the egg and cornstarch was a batter and it was too dry so I added water
to coat chicken . I think I really messed up that step but it still turned out great. We thickened the sauce before adding the chicken at the end which worked. The chicken wasn't crisp but who cares with flavor like that!! Next time we will reduce the ginger. ps the orange zest made the dish!!

This recipe is very confusing and hard to follow, the end product was not satisfactory. Im sure if the directions were more clear, the end product wud be better. Please clear up the instructions!!!!

Taste soo good and was cheaper than the real Panda!!! Great meal!!!

this recipe was great! really enjoyed it. since i didn't have an orange to zest or any orange juice, i used the juices from a can of mandarin oranges. right before i was about to serve i threw the oranges into the sauce mixture and it really added a great texture. next time i'm going to add broccoli as well! kudos for who ever posted this recipe!

The sauce is suppose to only lightly coat the chicken pieces. The recipe was really good, but I tweaked it up a bit. I used 4 tbsp of Vinegar and I juiced 1/2 an orange. I let it boil over the stove for about 4-5 minutes until it reduced a bit and then added the chicken. :] good stuff!

We made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. We used the brown sugar instead of white. Wonderful recipe thanks for posting it!

IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!! DELICIOUS!!!! i did however add 2 eggs instead of one and added more cornflour and flour...i found that this made the chickent pieces more crunchy when adding the sauce. i also added orange zest and FRESh orange juice SO YUM!!!!

this was an "ok recipe" but...i didnt follow it exactly. i used baslmic vinigar instead of white and i used flour where the cornstarch was needed.

Note:chop garlic very fine and make sure it doesnt overcook!
personal note:ginger is not needed

tasted nothing like pandas, so i am going to make it agian buy the books... i will post another review.
tip: follow cooking directions EXACTLY and use a wok
tip:fry chicken in peanut oil!(unless allergic like me:{)

I have been cooking for over 4 years and my dad has been cooking for over 35 years...

this recipe does not tast or look anything like panda express orange chicken. it is an ''ok recipe''
I was alittle awed becuase i followed this recipe "to the book"
wok and all...
my hunt for pandas will remain and i will do some expiriments!

I don't like Panda Express because there isn't much sauce on the chicken, so I tripled the sauce recipe for this. I used regular onion minced very fine instead of green onion and I didn't have rice wine or sesame oil.

I added a tablespoon of orange juice concentrate to the sauce for orange flavor. I added the cornstarch mixture before the chicken and made it quite thick, then just tossed the chicken with the thick sauce.

The chicken stayed nice and crunchy and the sauce was really good. The dish is really good reheated as well, of course it loses its crunch but it doesn't get too soggy and the flavors seemed to marry really well after a day in the fridge.

I served it with homemade fried rice and my whole family went gaga over it. We'll never get orange chicken at a Chinese restaurant again because this is just so good.

Note* It took me about 2 hours to make this dish, with the cutting up the chicken and frying in small batches. If you had a big deep fryer you could make this a lot faster, but to keep the chicken crispy and from sticking together you can only cook about 8 pieces at a time in a standard sized wok.

This is really good. My husband and both sons LOVE the restaurant version, and having not EVER tasted it myself, decided to surprise them. And I loved it too. So I had to compare it with the restaurant the next time we went, and I have to say that I liked this recipe better. We do double the sauce, too. TIP-Try using the Tyson mini chicken nuggets, the popcorn chicken size, instead of breading your own. Thaw first, but it works great when you are in a hurry. This is the only "processed" food you will find in my home. And then, only when it's on the menu for that month!

Followed the recipe exactly and found that it was not even remotely like PE Orange Chicken. For that matter, I would not have called it orange chicken at all. The ginger was overpowering, imo, and the instructions for the recipe are not written very clearly. The batter barely covered the chicken pieces and did not turn ''golden'' when I fried it at all, as the batter hardly covered the pieces. I was sorely disappointed as I had been looking forward to some tangy orange chicken for the entire day.

THE TASTE OF THE SAUCE WAS REALLY GOOD AND VERY CLOSE TO THE TASTE OF THE PANDA CHICKEN. I STRONGLY FEEL THAT THE EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF CORNSTARCH CONTRIBUTED TO THE SOGGINESS. NEXT TIME I WILL PROBABLY ONLY USE FLOUR. IT WAS LACKING THE 'CRISP' THAT PANDA CHICKEN HAS. I ALSO TRIED THE TRIPLE SEC FOR THE ORANGE SAUCE SINCE I DIDNT HAVE AN ORANGE FOR THE ZEST AND IT GAVE IT A GREAT ORANGE KICK.

My boyfriend and I thought this recipe was decent. It was kind of bland, and surprisingly dry. At the very least the sauce needs to be doubled. I even added fresh squeezed orange and zest, but it just didn't taste exactly right. Panda Express now sells 3 different kinds of 15.5 oz bottles of sauce for around $4. I'm gonna "cheat" and make it with the pre-made sauce next time. Also, this took me a good hour to make.

This recipe is fantastic!
I was a bit of a spaz and accidentaly bought rice vinegar and white wine instead of Rice Wine and White Vinegar.
Even so, I made it anyways, and it turned out fantastic!
Soooooo delicious! Take THAT Panda Express! ^_^

the first time i made this, the sauce didnt cover the chicken well enough to make it taste like orange chicken but i have made it 3 or 4 times since and have made many changes. Now i have a recipe that everyone loves and i make once a week.
1. No chilies. 2. No rice wine.
3. I double the sauce. 4. I use rice vinegar instead of white vinegar for the sauce and I use 8 tbsp. 5. Instead of orange zest, I use about 5 tbsp. of orange extract. This was a great tasting recipe to experiment with :)

i liked it. so it wasnt just like pandas, but we also have different ways off cooking. i used 1 tbs of orange juice in the sauce and i used 2 eggs instead of 1 ( by batter was too thick) i loved it and so did my family

Super tasty! I first copied this recipe 2 years ago and have made it several times since. I use chicken tenders and cut them in chunks. I make a double recipe of sauce so I have enough to serve over rice and I add the grated zest of one orange to the sauce. At the end, I stir in sesame oil only. I made it one time without the ginger or green onion and it's still great!

practically perfection!!! I didnt have rice wine (you dont really need it) I didnt use red chilies or onions or white pepper because of the kids and it probably turned out just as good BIG HIT with the kids.definately add orange zest and an optional dash(1-3 tablespoons) of orange juice is good too. chicken is nice and crispy but I would make sauce and add cornstarch mix and let it thicken a bit first, THEN turn off heat and add chicken to coat it. turns out delicious and still crispy and the sauce will continue to thicken as heat is cooling and chicken wont get soggy from sauce being too watery. but you should definately double the sauce recipe. nothing worse than not enough sauce for the chicken. I also used half sugar and other half brown sugar. It was the best recipe ive made in a while.

My family and I enjoyed it. However, next time around I will add less ginger and try the orange cest.

tried it and it came out wonderful. I did cheat and add extra's a dash of Chinese 5 spice sauce, 1 small mandarin orange, juiced and a dash of grated orange peel. Also, I didn't like the fact that at the restaurant and in this recepie there is so much sugar used. I think going with a small orange took out the need for the sugar. Thanks!!

I read all the reviews before making it. And then I made it. The direction are a bit tricky. However my first batch with some error was really good. The second try I managed to follow the recipie exactly. And it came out!! Very similar to Pandas taste and I will make it over and over again!! I like a little less of the seasamie oil but thats me. I do recomend follow the recipie as written exactly, at the first time.

I loved it- But I do have one question? Do you add the egg mixture to the chicken 1st & then add the flour/cornstarch on top of it? Mine became a mess, but I managed to cook it. I am just wondering how everyone else did theirs. I got confused with that part. Other than that----loved it. Next time I will make more of a sauce.

My kids and I are ORANGE CHICKEN fanatics when it comes to Panda Express so it can become quite expensive. I decided to try this recipe without letting them know and they couldn't tell the difference. We love it! I forgot the orange peel this time but I'll try it next time for sure.

I love Panda Express Orange Chicken. This is pretty close. Double up on the orange sauce and use orange zest!

OMG...this recipe was incredible. The first time that my all of my kids liked somethin. The only time consuming part was frying the chicken, but other than that great recipe that works and not complicated

I just made this for my grandson's birthday. He proclaimed it better than Panda Express! It is definitely worth trying.

Very good, it tastes like orange chicken from a restaurant. I did use orange in place of the water and added the cornstarch mixture and oil in before adding the chicken. Its a little time consuming but worth it.

Verrrry close to Panda. I used 1/2 the amount of chicken called for in the recipe, and chunked the chicken pieces into half-thumb pieces (I have a medium-large male hand). These two changes allowed for a heavier coating per piece of chicken, and allowed the chicken to cook perfectly with a golden, crisp batter. Yummmmy! Best orange chicken I've ever had!

I marinated the chicken in Olive oil, fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest,grated garlic, salt and pepper for 1 hour.

I omitted the ginger, chilies, and rice wine because I didnt have it.

I added white onion and then the sauce..It was amazing..New favorite

I've been in Europe for the past 1 1/2 years, was just craving for PE Orange Chicken. Tried this, and would say it's as close as it gets. Absolutely delicious! I made a mistake with the batter. Mixed the chicken/egg, and then dipped those in the dry flour mix. It worked out too. Have to be quick when mixing the sauce so as to keep it crispy. Highly recommend this.

I just tried this recipe and it turned out pretty good. I fudged on some of the ingredients like using garlic powder instead of minced garlic. I also replaced the crushed red chilies with chili powder. Also, I didn't use sesami oil or rice wine.

The only thing that didn't turn out the best was the orange sauce. If you are not a fan of savory and sweet, I would not put in as much sugar and orange zest. I rinsed off the sauce and it tasted really good. It's a good foundation recipe to tweak to your liking.

This is by far the best Orange Chicken I have ever had in my life. I added peel from one orange to the sauce and let it sit while I cooked the chicken. Also didn't have the rice wine but substitued white cooking wine. Didn't seem to hurt it any. my husband loves orange chicken so I tried this for him and you know it's good when he say's OMG after every bite. LOL ENJOY

The food came out awesome. This recipe is really good. It did take a little bit under an hour because i didn't have the right pans. I would highly recommend this recipe. Thanks