Mandarin Chicken – Easy Chinese recipe better than take out. Chunks of chicken coated in a brown glaze of orange juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce.
Panda Express has a dish called mandarin chicken, which consists of chunks of chicken in a sweet and salty brown sauce. It’s one of my favorite Chinese Take out dishes. It inspired me to make this easy, at home version of mandarin chicken.
How To Make Mandarin Orange Chicken
*Note: The full printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
- In a mixing bowl, add orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, corn starch, and pepper.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Add cooking oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add chunks of cut up chicken breast.
- Cook until browned.
- Pour the mandarin sauce over the chicken.
- Simmer the chicken in the liquid until the sauce is thick and sticky.
I served mine with rice and broccoli. I also added sliced green onions and sesame seeds as a topping.
Corn starch is used as a thickener for the sweet, yummy sauce. This is pretty common in Chinese cooking. But, it can make leftovers a bit of a challenge.
Once the sauce is cooled, the cornstarch makes the sauce turn into a gel. Leftovers will still taste great, but the consistency won’t be quite as good as when the mandarin chicken is first made.
Try These Other Easy Chicken Recipes
Watch The Step By Step Recipe Video For Mandarin Chicken Below
Mandarin Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized chunks
- 1 tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. water
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- optional: sliced green onions, sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and the chicken. Stir the chicken to coat it in the oil. Let the chunks of chicken cook until they start to brown on a couple of sides, stirring occasionally (about 5-7 minutes).
- In the meantime, add the orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, water, corn starch, and black pepper in a bowl. Stir or whisk until well combined and corn starch is dissolved.
- Pour the sauce over the browned chicken and stir to coat. Once sauce has come to a bubble, reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the chicken and sauce simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Serve hot. Sprinkle with optional green onions and/or sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Check out all of my great chicken recipes.
Jessica says
This recipe is one of our new “go-tos” for an easy weeknight meals. Both hubby and kids loved it!
Noelle says
This chicken was delicious, I loved how it tasted with broccoli