Baked Orange-Flavored Chicken

Name: Baked Orange-Flavored Chicken
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Asia, Chinese
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut in 1 1/2-inch pieces; 3/4 cup, low-sodium chicken broth; 3/4 cup, orange juice, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons grated zest, and 8 strips orange peel (each about 2 inches long by 1/2 inch wide) from 2 oranges; 6 tablespoons, distilled white vinegar; 1/4 cup, soy sauce; 1/2 cup, packed dark brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces); 3 medium cloves, garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon); 1 piece, fresh ginger (about 1 inch), grated (1 tablespoon); 1/4 teaspoon, cayenne pepper; 1 tablespoon, cornstarch, plus 2 teaspoons; 2 tablespoons, water (cold); 8 , small whole dried red chiles (optional); 3 , large egg whites; 1/2 cup, cornstarch; 1/2 cup, all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup, peanut oil

9 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated May/June 2006

Invented in Chinese American restaurants, this dish is a well-loved classic. We wanted to create a recipe that would be sure to deliver a beautifully crisp texture and well-balanced flavor every time, even without frying.

SERVES4

TIME1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes marinating

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For our version of orange-flavored chicken, we marinated the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, vinegar, fresh orange juice, and chicken broth, reserving some marinade to become the base for the final sauce. We create...

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