WANNABE Panda Express Orange Chicken - made with CUTIES

Another tasty night that took a little (I mean quite a bit more) work than usual. I haven't made Orange Chicken in over a year and I have kinda been craving it. I checked my fridge and noticed that I had almost all of the necessary ingredients (or substitutes) needed to make this WANNABE Panda Express favorite! Bear in mind that I just had some CUTIES sitting on my counter so rather than get some oranges, I wanted to see if these would work as well.

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken chopped into bite sized pieces.
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 1/2 tsp salt
white pepper (or just fresh ground pepper is what I use)

Place in a large Ziplock bag and toss together.

1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Flour
Oil (for frying)

Stir together cornstarch and flour. Add chicken pieces, stirring to coat.

Heat oil for deep frying in a wok (abt 375 degrees)

Add Chicken in small batches at a time and fry 3-4 minutes or until golden crisp. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels - Set Aside and prepare orange sauce.


Orange Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp water
5 Tbsp sugar (or Splenda)
5 Tbsp white vinegar
Juice of 1 cutie + zest of entire cutie (Or 1 orange juiced and zested)

mix together and set aside until ready to use.

1 tbsp gingerroot, minced (I jsut use a small grater)
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch

Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry for about 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add pepper flakes and green onions. Add rice vinegar and stir 3 seconds. Add orange sauce and bring to a boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed. Stir water and cornstarch together until smooth and add to wok. Heat until sauce is thickened and serve warm.