Takeout orange chicken, built clean: cubed chicken in a sticky orange-soy sauce thickened with a little flour, over brown rice. One plate is 38g of protein for 403 calories.

Real orange juice plus a spoon of zest is what makes it taste like the mall version without the deep-fry.

Ingredients

  • For the rice
  • Brown rice — ½ cup dry [P 7 C 73 F 3]
  • Water (or broth) — 1 cup
  • Salt — for the rice
  • For the orange sauce
  • Orange juice — ⅓ cup (fresh or no-added-sugar) [P 1 C 12 F 0]
  • Low-sodium soy sauce — 2 tbsp [P 2 C 3 F 0]
  • Honey — 2 tsp
  • Apple cider vinegar — 1 tsp
  • Minced garlic — 1 tsp
  • Ginger — ½ tsp (fresh or powder)
  • Whole-wheat or oat flour — 1 tsp
  • For the chicken
  • Chicken breast — 2, ~180 g each raw [P 74 C 0 F 8]
  • Olive oil — 1 tsp (or spray)
  • Pepper, paprika, chilli powder — to taste

Method

  1. Cook the rice. Simmer in 1 cup salted water, covered, ~25 minutes.
  2. Mix the sauce. Combine the OJ, soy, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger and flour.
  3. Cook the chicken. Cube, season, and pan-cook 6 minutes.
  4. Glaze. Remove the chicken, boil the sauce, then simmer 2–3 minutes until thick; return the chicken and coat. Serve over rice.

What to eat it with

  • Green onions and sesame seeds.
  • Steamed broccoli — a classic side.
  • Extra chilli — for heat.

Variations

  • Spicier: add sriracha or chilli flakes to the sauce.
  • Lower carb: cauliflower rice.
  • Pineapple version: swap some OJ for pineapple juice.

Honest notes

  • Fibre: about 3g a serving, from the brown rice.
  • Chicken weight: written for ~180g raw breasts — see [Baked Chicken Breast].
  • Macros: reconcile with the per-serving 403 cal / 38g protein listed; no correction needed.