Panda Express Orange Chicken

One of my go-to meals on the craziest of the crazy nights is the orange chicken from the freezer section of Trader Joes.   It takes just 10 minutes to whip together and my kids gobble it up like it's candy.    It was with this in mind when I found this knock-off recipe for Panda Express' Orange Chicken in a church cookbook, that it was one of the first ones I bookmarked to try.  The box of frozen popcorn chicken was a bit of pain to find, so the second time I made it I just used regular cooked and diced boneless skinless chicken breasts instead.   The kids devoured both versions no problem and were asking within the week when I would make it again.   This one's definitely staying on the keeper list!

this version was made with the frozen popcorn chicken as listed in the recipe

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

2 packages (12-oz. each) frozen, precooked popcorn chicken (or cooked and diced chicken breasts)

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1 tsp. minced ginger root

1-2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 Tbs. rice wine (I omitted this)

3/4 cup water

1-1/2 tsp. sesame oil

3 Tbs. soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white vinegar

zest and juice of one orange

crushed red pepper, to taste

hot cooked rice

Put desired amount of chicken on baking sheet and cook according to package directions. Meanwhile combine above ingredients in a saucepan. I blended my sauce ingredients together in a blender before heating to make the sauce nice and smooth. Mix and stir until heated through. Toss warm chicken with sauce and serve over warm rice. Makes 6 servings.

 This version was made with the boneless skinless chicken breasts.  I did not think it turned out as pretty as 
with the popcorn chicken, but the kids sure didn't complain about the taste!

Enjoy!