Recipe: Copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken (2024)

FAQs

What is orange chicken made of at Panda Express? ›

Ingredients: dark meat chicken, water, sugar, distilled vinegar, modified food starch, corn starch, potato starch, contains less than 2% of: wheat, orange extract, caramel color, salt, garlic, phosphoric acid, rice wine, sesame oil. *The dish uses a proprietary batter and sauce.

Panda Express entrees and sides contain zero grams of trans fat per serving and adds no MSG in their food. Panda Express uses only 100% pure soybean oil in the preparation of recipes.

Orange chicken is a popular item at Chinese restaurants. It consists of small cubes of chicken that are breaded, pan-fried, and coated in an orange sauce. The orange sauce is sweet with a little tang and a hint of spice. It's mainly known for its orange flavor (as you can guess from the name).

Unfortunately, if it's a nutritious meal you're on the hunt for, this one isn't it. "Panda Express's Orange Chicken and Chow Mein are considered unhealthy due to their high levels of sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats," says Young.

They deep fry what are essentially chicken nuggets and toss them in a wok with the orange-flavored sauce. There's no MSG. Chef Andy Kao is credited with inventing orange chicken in 1987. He was classically trained in French cuisine and worked as Panda Express' executive chef.

All of the flavor in the Asian chicken dish comes from the Panda Express signature orange chicken sauce, which features orange peel, soy sauce, vinegar, and red chili peppers. This gives the dish a citrusy sweet and tangy flavor with just a hint of heat.

Panda Express claims that they do not add extra MSG to their food, but they issued disclaimer that ingredients they use could include MSG. Panda Express is "fast food" and the largest Chinese fast food chain.

One of the ingredients left out of Panda's display menu is the oil used in its dishes. Panda Express primarily cooks their dishes in soybean oil.

How to make the orange chicken sauce. The orange sauce is made from a mixture of the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. This is bubbled up in the wok until slightly thickened. The chicken is then added back in, and tossed in the sauce until fully coated.

What is inside hoisin sauce? ›

Though regional variations exist, most modern hoisin sauce recipes contain some combination of the following ingredients: fermented soybeans, five-spice powder, garlic, red chili peppers, and sugar. "Hoisin" comes from the Cantonese word for seafood, though it's not commonly associated with seafood dishes.

The original “Orange Chicken” had no breading around each piece of chicken and the sauce was made of leftover orange or lemon peels cooked with soy sauce, chilis and garlic. The sauce had a citrus element, but it wasn't as pronounced or sweet like you would think of today.

The #1 worst Panda Express order is…the Chow Mein and Orange Chicken. The combination of Orange Chicken, a dish inspired by a Chinese dish called chen pi niu rou, and classic chow mein stir-fried noodles is nothing short of delicious. Unfortunately, if it's a nutritious meal you're on the hunt for, this one isn't it.

A healthier option from Panda Express includes the nutritious 'Mushroom Chicken' that has just 170 calories and 11 g of total carbs and just 1 teaspoon (4 g) of sugar. Another choice is their 'Black Pepper Chicken' that weighs in at 280 calories and 14 g of total carbs.

Or the nutrition side of things? Fried rice has 570 calories (extra calories are from fat) and 900mg sodium. However, chow mien has fewer calories of 400, but a huge amount of sodium 1,060mg! Another thing that you could look at would be the number of vegetables in each dish perhaps.

Panda orange chicken uses boneless and skinless chicken thighs. The chicken is breaded and deep-fried and served with rice. The famous Panda Express orange sauce combines water, orange extract, distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, cornstarch, and sesame oil.

Andrew Cherng, owner and founder of Panda Express, said that orange chicken is just a variation of General Tso's chicken, another dish that is almost unknown in China. Journalist Jennifer 8. Lee says that both "General Tso's chicken and Orange Chicken are Americanized mutations of sweet and sour dishes found in China."

This Chinese Orange Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The orange sauce is divine! It is a sweet orange sauce made with orange juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red chili flakes, and orange zest.

Orange chicken is a Chinese-American takeout dish made popular by the popular strip mall restaurant, Panda Express. It's deep-fried pieces of chicken, tossed in a sweet and tangy orange citrus sauce.