Chicken Oriental

This easy Chicken Oriental features breaded chicken pieces that are quickly fried until crispy and then coated in a sweet and savory sauce. This is an easy take-out fake out that is perfect for a weeknight meal.

If you love this Chicken Oriental, you’ll also love this Chinese Chicken.

We love take out Chinese food at our house, but I never love the way I feel after eating it. But I have discovered that I can make take out fake outs at home that taste just as good (or better!) than anything you’d get when you order out. But by making it at home, you know exactly what goes into it, and you can feel much better about eating it.

Not to say that this recipe is necessarily healthy – you are still frying the chicken. But just knowing the ingredients can save you from a tummy ache later!

One of my favorite at home Chinese recipes is this Chicken Oriental. It’s a little bit sweet, savory, salty, and just a little bit spicy. Whenever I make this, I tell my kids it’s kind of like Orange Chicken, but the flavor profile is just a little bit different.

This is a dinner that the whole family will fall in love with!

Ingredients

• Butter: I like to use butter here for the flavor, but you could also use oil.
• Chicken Broth: I like to use a low sodium chicken broth.
• Sweet Chili Sauce: I usually use the Mae Ploy brand of sweet chili sauce, but if there is one that you like better, feel free to use that.
• Soy Sauce: You will want to use low sodium soy sauce. Otherwise, the sauce will be overly salty.
• Brown Sugar: I use light brown sugar, but you could use dark brown sugar, as well.
• Ground Ginger: This just adds a little bit of extra flavor.
• Cornstarch: You need cornstarch for both the sauce and the chicken. You’ll use a small amount to thicken up the sauce. Then the breading is made with equal parts flour and cornstarch to keep it nice and light.
• Chicken: I like to use chicken thighs for this recipe because not only do they have more flavor, but you don’t have to worry as much about the chicken drying out.
• Flour: You will need flour for the breading for the chicken, along with cornstarch. I use all-purpose flour.
• Eggs: The eggs form part of the binding for the breading. You should need 2 large eggs.
• Oil: You need a neutral oil that is good for frying. Typically vegetable or canola oil will work well. You could also use avocado oil.

How to Make Chicken Oriental

STEP 1: Make the sauce. Melt the butter, then add in all of the remaining sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch. Once the mixture comes to a boil, let it boil for 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch and the water, then stir it in and cook until the sauce thickens.

STEP 2: Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly whisk the eggs in another dish.

STEP 3: Dip the chicken into the egg mixture. Let any excess drip off.

STEP 4: Add the chicken to the flour mixture and coat completely.

STEP 5: Cook the chicken in about an inch of hot oil. Cook it for several minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and crispy. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked.

STEP 6: Pour the sauce over the chicken. Stir until completely coated. Serve the chicken over rice.

Tips and Tricks

The sauce will continue to thicken up as it cools, so if it gets to thick to pour, simply heat it back up for a minute or two and give it a good stir.

This makes enough sauce to coat the chicken, but if you want extra sauce for the rice, or if you like it really saucy, you’ll want to increase the sauce.

While the chicken doesn’t stay as crisp for leftovers, they still are delicious! We just reheat it in the microwave.

More Take Out Fake Out Dinners

Kung Pao Chicken
General Tso Chicken
Beef and Broccoli

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Chicken Oriental

5 from 3 votes

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Asian

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This easy Chicken Oriental features breaded chicken pieces that are quickly fried until crispy and then coated in a sweet and savory sauce. This is an easy take-out fake out that is perfect for a weeknight meal.

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Ingredients

Sauce

• ▢ 1 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1/4 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• ▢ 1/4 cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water

Chicken

• ▢ 1 1/4 lbs trimmed boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• ▢ 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup cornstarch
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ Oil for frying
• ▢ Rice for serving
• ▢ Sliced green onions optional

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the chicken broth, chili sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and ground ginger. Add salt and pepper, to taste. (I only add a small amount of salt, but I like a decent amount of pepper, but this is all preference.) Cook over medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil, then let it boil for 5 minutes.
  1 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, salt and pepper
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. After the 5 minutes, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and continue to cook for another minute or until it thickens up. Turn off the heat and set aside.
  1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon water
• Meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes.
  1 1/4 lbs trimmed boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Place the flour and the cornstarch in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
  1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, Salt and pepper
• Crack the eggs into a second dish and whisk to break up.
  2 eggs
• Fill a heavy skillet or sauté pan with about 1 inch of oil. Heat to 350ºF.
  Oil
• Take a few pieces of the chicken and dip them into the eggs. Let any excess drip off, then dredge in the flour mixture. Place in the hot oil and let the chicken cook until cooked through, flipping once during the cook time. Once the chicken is done, remove to a large bowl.
• Continue with the rest of the chicken until all has been cooked.
• If the sauce has thickened up too much, turn the heat on to low and stir. Then pour the sauce over the cooked chicken in the bowl. Stir until all of the chicken is coated in the sauce.
• Serve the chicken over rice, if desired, and top with sliced green onions.
  Rice, Sliced green onions

Video

Recipe Notes:

I love chicken thighs (I think they have more flavor and they are hard to overcook) but boneless, skinless chicken breasts will work here, too.

This recipe has been adapted and improved from the original recipe posted here in 2013. 

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutrition information is figured estimating 1/4 cup of vegetable oil absorbed. The nutrition is overestimated, since the amount to breading discarded is not figured.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 495kcal (25%), Carbohydrates: 30g (10%), Protein: 30g (60%), Fat: 28g (43%), Saturated Fat: 7g (44%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 203mg (68%), Sodium: 1607mg (70%), Potassium: 325mg (9%), Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 13g (14%)

Keywords: chicken oriental, oriental chicken