Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

This Asian Style Orange Glazed Chicken is a bit of a hybrid between the Honey Sesame Chicken recipe that I recently came up with, and Foodie Crush’s Glazed Orange Chicken, a recipe that I luckily stumbled upon a weeks ago, during one of my many Pinterest browsing sessions (I think I may be spending a little bit too much time on Pinterest lately…) 

Given my love for Asian food, I guess it will come as no surprise if I say that Heidi’s recipe was immediately added it to my “must-do-asap” list.

The original recipe sounded absolutely delicious as it stood, too, but I decided to make a few substitutions to make it paleo friendly. Plus, you know me when it comes to following a recipe, right? It’s like some crazy tour de force that I just can’t seem to be able pull!

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

Now before we start cooking, I have to ask you to please forgive me for the poor quality of my pictures: it was so unbelievably dark out on the day that I decided to make this recipe, it might as well have been the middle of the night…

Good thing I have a decent tripod and a pretty good amera, but still… For a while, I wasn’t even sure that I’d manage to get enough decent shots for me to share the recipe with you. Thank goodness, I was able to perform a little miracle on a handful of them, because not logging this recipe would’ve been a total shame. This orange glazed chicken is even better than take-out, and it’s even easier to make than my equally delicious Honey Sesame Chicken.

I think it’s a recipe you’ll definitely want to add to your regular rotation, especially if you too are a fan of Asian food! As you can very well imagine, it’s sweet and sour, and has just what it takes of spiciness to it. Don’t be alarmed by the seemingly generous addition of sambal oelek. While it may seem like a lot, the touch of heat that it contributes to the dish is fairly subtle. Even my baby grand-daughter had some of this orange chicken dish and she totally loved it.

If it makes you feel safer, though, or if you really can’t tolerate heat at all, feel free to completely leave it out. 

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

Before you start cooking the chicken, you should get your sauce ready, this way you can concentrate on the meat while it’s browning in the hot pan. Whisk all the ingredients together in a large glass measuring cup and then set aside.

Next, heat some extra-virgin olive oil (or other healthy cooking fat of your choice) in a large, skillet set over high heat and sprinkle the pieces of chicken generously with salt.

When the pan is nice and hot, add half the pieces of chicken, pretty side down, and let the meat cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes, until the chicken gets nice and golden at the bottom. Flip the pieces of chicken and continue cooking for another minute or two, until browned on the other side.

Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken (unless you have a crazy large pan and was able to fit them all in there at once…)

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

Once all the meat is cooked, return it to the skillet and pour the sauce right in. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, to finish cooking the chicken.

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

Now make a slurry by mixing the tapioca starch and water together, and then and then move the pieces chicken to the side, leaving a great big space in the middle of the pan so you have plenty of room to whisk that slurry in.

Pour the slurry in that hole you just created and whisk constantly for about a minute, until the sauce is thickened (I had taken a shot of that whisking action, but I doubt seeing it would help you at all with the process… I’d rather not show it to you, for fear that you would try to replicate the strange kind of blurry whirlwind action that’s on the picture!)

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

Once all the slurry has been whisked in and your sauce is nicely thickened, toss the chicken delicately with a large spoon until it’s completely covered with the sauce.

And you are now ready to serve your Orange Glazed Chicken. I opted to serve mine with a side of jasmine rice and garnished it with a little bit of orange zest.

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com

Asian Orange Glazed Chicken | thehealthyfoodie.com
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Orange Glazed Chicken – Asian Style

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Sweet and sour with a touch of heat, this Asian Style Orange Glazed Chicken is 10 times better than take out and surprisingly easy to make!
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs, patted dry , (about 900g | 2lb total)
  • Generous sprinkle of salt

For the sauce

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Instructions

  • In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce, up to the ground ginger.
  • Heat the olive oil (or other healthy cooking fat of your choice) in a large, skillet set over high heat and sprinkle the pieces of chicken generously with salt. When the pan is hot enough, add half of the pieces of chicken, nice looking side down, and let the meat cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes, until it gets nice and golden at the bottom. Flip the pieces of chicken and continue cooking for another minute or two, until browned on the other side. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
  • Once all the meat is cooked, return it to the skillet and pour the sauce in. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, to finish cooking the chicken. Make a slurry by mixing the tapioca starch and water together, and then and then move the pieces chicken to the side, leaving a great big space in the middle of the pan to allow you to whisk the slurry in. Whisk constantly for about a minute, until the sauce is thickened, then delicately toss the chicken so it's completely covered with the sauce.
  • Serve immediately with a side of rice and garnished with a little bit of orange zest, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 476kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 190mg, Sodium: 1167mg, Potassium: 733mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 172IU, Vitamin C: 32mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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