Crispy Orange Chicken

Ingredients

• 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, large diced
• 30g or 2Tbsp soy sauce
• 30g or 2Tbsp mirin
• 3g or 1tsp corn starch
• 4g or 1tsp baking soda
• 400g or 3 1/3c ap flour
• 15g or 2 1/4tsp salt
• 6g or 1 1/4tsp baking soda
• 400g or 3 1/4c corn starch
• Water
• Additional ap flour (about 3/350g cups)
• Neutral oil for frying
• 30g or 2Tbsp neutral, high smoke point oil
• 10g or 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 10g or about a 1.5” piece ginger, grated
• 20g or 4Tbsp scallions, thinly sliced
• 125g or 1/2c chicken stock
• 75g or 1/4c mirin
• 50g or 3Tbsp soy sauce
• 10g or 2tsp sesame oil
• 50g or 1/4c sugar
• 25g or 1.5Tbsp rice vinegar
• Juice of 1 large orange
• 1tsp orange zest
• 5g or 2tsp corn starch
• Pinch of chili flakes
• Corn starch slurry (2g or 3/4tsp corn starch mixed into 4g water)

Method

1. Whisk together soy sauce, mirin, corn starch, and baking soda. Add chicken chunks and marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Whisk together 400g ap flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch. In a separate bowl, add about ¼ of this dry mixture and whisk in water until a loose pancake batter forms.
3. Add about ¼ cup of the wet batter to the dry mixture and crumble to create a dry crumbly texture.
4. Coat chicken pieces in 3 cups of ap flour, then dip into the wet batter, then into the dry crumbly mixture, and transfer to a tray.
5. Preheat a large heavy-bottomed pot with about 2qt of neutral oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 300F/150C.
6. Gently lower breaded chicken into the oil and fry for 4-5 minutes until light blonde, then remove and drain.
7. Increase oil temperature to 350F/175C, then fry the chicken again for about 90 seconds until golden brown, then transfer to a wire rack and keep warm.
8. Heat a generous squeeze of neutral oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic, and scallions; cook for about a minute until fragrant.
9. Whisk together chicken stock, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, rice vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, and corn starch. Add to the pan with aromatics, add chili flakes, and simmer until sauce reduces by half.
10. If needed, stir in a splash of corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.
11. Add cooked chicken nuggets into the pan with sauce and toss gently to coat.
12. Serve over rice, topped with sesame seeds and chili flakes.