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Full-Flavored Orange Chicken in the Air Fryer

An extremely fun recipe to make and eat; Powerfully Flavored Orange Chicken starts in the air fryer and ends up in a pot full of flavor!
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Air Fryer, air fryer chicken recipes, air fryer chicken recipes no breading, Air Fryer orange chicken, air fryer recipes, chicken recipes, healthy orange chicken recipe, how to make orange chicken, instant pot dave, instantpotdave, orange chicken, orange chicken air fryer, orange chicken in air fryer, orange chicken recipe, orange chicken recipes, orange chicken sauce, the wild waynes, thewildwaynes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Calories: 281kcal
Author: David Wayne (Instant Pot Dave)
Cost: $16

Equipment

  • Air Fryer
  • Large Sauce Pot or Pan
  • Stove or Hot Plate

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Chicken Breast cut into bite size pieces

Chicken Dredge

  • 1/4 cup Cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Ginger powder

Sauce

  • 4 Large Garlic Cloves Diced
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Diced About a half a thumb's worth
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Large Orange zested and juiced ~1/2 cup Juice ~3 Tbsp Zest
  • 1 Lemon juiced ~1/3 cup
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Yellow or Sweet Onion chopped into bite size pieces
  • 2 Orange or Red Bell Peppers chopped into bite size pieces

Cornstarch Slurry

  • 3 Tbsp Cornstarch cornstarch slurry
  • 6 Tbsp Water cornstarch slurry

Instructions

Preparing the Chicken

  • Cut the chicken pieces into bite size pieces and add them to a mixing bowl
  • Mix 1/4 cup cornstarch, black pepper, salt and ground ginger and add to the chicken
  • Mix the cornstarch mixture with the chicken so the chicken is evenly covered
  • Preheat your air fryer for 5 minutes at 400°F
  • Spray the hot air fryer basket with oil and add the chicken pieces to the basket
  • Spray the chicken with oil and put basket into the air fryer
  • Cook for 8 minutes at 380°F and then use a spatula to flip the chicken over in quadrants, 1/4th at a time, breaking up the chicken pieces as you go and spray with oil
  • Return the basket to the air fryer and cook for 4 more minutes at 380°F
  • Plate and cover the chicken in aluminum foil, set aside

Making the Sauce

  • Zest and juice one large orange plus juice one lemon, add to a pot or saucepan
  • Mix all other sauce ingredients except bell pepper and onion into the pot or saucepan with the orange and lemon juice
  • Turn on stove or hot plate to medium-high heat under the sauce pot
  • Chop onion and bell peppers into large bite size pieces and add to the sauce
  • Let simmer for 5 minutes stirring every minute
  • Add the cooked chicken to the sauce and carefully stir Chicken down into sauce
  • Mix 3 Tbsp of cornstarch and 6 Tbsp of water in a small bowl or cup to make a slurry
  • Carefully stir slurry into the sauce and chicken
  • Bring sauce to a boil, stirring often, until sauce thickens and turn stove or hotplate off
  • Serve over rice or steamed veggies

Video

Notes

Air Fryers all cook a little differently, even of the same model.  Make sure the chicken is cooked through without any pink.  If there is still a little pink in the middle, cook for a couple more minutes.  Enjoy the amazing flavor!
Watch the video for instruction and motivation.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 281kcal