Crispy Orange Chicken

This is very good and the chicken really stays crispy for a long time. Even after the fried chicken is covered in orange sauce, it stays crispy for a long time. The "secret" is double frying and chilled ingredients. This recipe is a combination of my previous version of orange chicken and an eye-opening recipe for crispy honey shrimp where I take the best of both and combine them into something I think is really good.

I think this recipe is better than the restaurant one and even though it involves a little work and a few odd ingredients, it is definitely worth it. Serve this with rice or fried noodles for a luxurious and decadent meal.

Why chicken thighs?

Chicken thighs are more tender than chicken breasts and can handle high-temperature cooking without drying out too quickly. However, chicken thighs generally cost a little more than other chicken parts, so if you want to save some money, you may have to wait for extra prices or choose something else.

The deep-frying

The double-frying is part of the reason for the crispy result. The cold batter with carbonated water is another reason. Here are some things to keep in mind to get really crispy results:

• Make sure all the ingredients for the batter are well chilled. I put the carbonated water and the bowl with all the dry ingredients in the fridge.
• Make sure the chicken pieces are relatively dry and refrigerator-cold.
• Mix the batter together right before frying (wait with the carbonated water until just before frying, that is).
• Quickly coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch, then the cold deep-frying batter and then directly into the oil for the first deep-frying.
• After the first deep-frying - let the chicken cool down in the fridge again (about 20-30 minutes). The chicken pieces may then become a little soft, but the second frying is what takes them to the next level!
• When frying for the first time, you should not fill the fryer too much, but cook 4-6 chicken pieces at a time (of course, depending on the size of the fryer and the chicken pieces). For the second frying, however, you can fill it a little more.

Giving the chicken some time in the refrigerator after the first frying makes it a little soft and soggy, but that is expected. The second frying is what makes the batter crispy. When I test-cooked a lot of different variations, it happened that the chicken was left in the refrigerator for up to a day between the first and second frying - it worked out great and turned out good too.

Orange Sauce

I use 2 large oranges to squeeze out about 150g of orange juice. Of course, the definition of "large" oranges varies - the last time I bought oranges, I weighed a large orange to just over 300g. However, I think it is important to use freshly squeezed orange instead of store-bought orange juice.

The sauce contains Chinese cooking wine and Chinese black vinegar, which can be a bit difficult to find. A good substitute for Chinese cooking wine is dry sherry and instead of black vinegar, you can use rice vinegar.

I prefer a light soy sauce for this dish - you want the sauce to still be orange and not completely black. Another ingredient that I think makes a big difference is glucose syrup - it will make the sauce even stickier.

If, against all odds, the sauce tastes too orangey, you can use a little orange zest, but I suspect that won't be necessary. In the previous version, I wanted to use fresh garlic and ginger, but after testing around a bit, I don't think it makes that much of a difference. So I'm using dried varieties here instead.

Nutritional value

The nutritional value for this recipe DOES NOT include the oil that is added during the frying process. Exactly how much is added is very difficult to estimate, so I'll just leave it at that. Keep in mind, however, that the recipe contains a lot more fat (and therefore also calories of course) than the nutritional value calculation below shows.