Kenny's Orange Chicken

If you like the Orange Chicken that is served at Panda Express restaurants, you are bound to like this recipe.  When I was given this recipe, I was told that it made much more sauce than what was needed for the amount of chicken called for.  Therefore, I doubled the amount of chicken when I prepared it and my recipe below reflects those amounts.  I was assured it was very good, so leftovers were not going to be a problem.

My nephew, Kenny, has taken up cooking and this recipe came from him.  I told him that if we thought it was really good, I would add it to my blog.  We loved it, giving it straight 9's on the Melnarik rating scale!  His sister and her husband call this savory chicken Crazy Uncle Kenny's Orange Chicken, and told me I was free to call it that here, but I don't think he's crazy and he's not yet an uncle, so I'm just calling it Kenny's Orange Chicken (sorry Jessica and Arland!). Thank you, Kenny, for sharing this recipe with me!

To begin, I began heating about 1-inch of vegetable oil in my largest skillet to 375°F.  Then, I beat the eggs in a bowl using a fork and mixed the flour and salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  I started with 1 cup of the flour to which I added 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  When I was about half way through dredging the chicken pieces, I added the other cup of flour with the same amount of seasonings.

I then began cutting the chicken into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes.

As I cut about a handful of chicken cubes, I dipped them in the egg,

then I dredged them in the flour mixture.  

I would only add enough chicken to almost cover the bottom of the frying pan.  This allowed them to cook evenly and gave me a bit of room to turn them as needed so they were golden brown on all sides.

  

As each batch was finished, I would drain it on paper towels for a few minutes, then place in in a large bowl and set it aside.

During the time I was cooking the chicken, I was making the sauce.  To begin, I combined 1 1/2 cups of the water with the orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.  Hint:  Before juicing the orange, wash the rind and zest it (remove very thin strips from the outer part of the skin) and set aside for later use.  I stirred the ingredients together and began cooking the sauce over medium heat for 4 minutes.

To this mixture, I added the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onions, stirring to combine.  I increased the heat to high and brought the sauce to a boil.

Once boiling, I reduced the heat to medium and stirred in the Mirin Sweet Cooking Sake and red pepper flakes.  In a separate bowl, I whisked together the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and slowly added it to the sauce while continuously stirring.  I continued cooking and stirring the sauce for a couple of minutes until it was nicely thickened.

I added the sauce to the cooked chicken I had set aside in the bowl and tossed to coat all the pieces of chicken.

I served this delectable chicken with some with rice and stir fry vegetables.  It did take a bit of time to put this dish together, because of the amount, but it was so worth the time!  If you like Asian flavors, this dish is for you!  Enjoy!

Kenny’s Orange Chicken

2 packages (16 oz. each) boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 extra large or 3 small eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

1 ¾ cups water, divided

1 tablespoon orange zest

juice of 1 large orange

¼ cup lemon juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons Mirin Sweet Cooking Sake

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Heat oil in large frying pan or Dutch oven to 375°F.  Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.  In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, and pepper for breading.  In small batches, coat chicken pieces in egg, then dredge in flour mixture.  Fry chicken in batches, turning as necessary, until golden brown and fully cooked.  Drain on paper towels and set aside in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine 1 ½ cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce, stirring to combine.  Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.  To the sauce, add orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onions, stirring to combine.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in Mirin and red pepper; continue cooking.  In a cup, combine cornstarch with remaining ¼ cup water; mix well.  While stirring the sauce, slowly add cornstarch mixture; continue stirring until thickened.  Pour sauce over chicken and toss to coat; serve with rice.

Cheesy Corn Cakes with Avocado Salsa

This recipe just looked interesting and yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  I love corn and it was pretty simple to make, but I think the avocado salsa makes this dish.

I found this recipe on Pinterest but it originated at simply-delicious.co.za.  This isn't the healthiest side dish because it's fried, but if you like corn and avocados, this recipe is for you.  My family gave this dish 8s and 9s on the Melnarik rating scale.

In a large bowl, I combined the creamed corn, corn kernels, eggs, paprika, and salt.

To that mixture, I added the shredded cheddar cheese.  This recipe calls for sharp cheddar, but if you're like me and want the cheese flavor to come through more, use extra sharp cheddar.  I stirred everything together until well combined.

Then I added the flour and baking powder, mixing well.

I added the milk a little bit at a time until the batter was not too thick, yet not making it too thin.  It needed to drop off the spoon easily but not spread like a pancake in the frying pan.

To my frying pan, I added some oil and heated it over a medium-high flame.  Then I dropped in spoonfuls of the batter.  As you can see, the one in the front spread into a wonky shape, but most of them remained round.  Once I could see at the edges that the bottom was nicely browned, I flipped them and cooked the other side.

Once fully cooked, I placed the corn cakes on folded paper towels to let the towels absorb some of the fat.

In the meantime, I began to prepare the avocado salsa.  I'm sure there is an easier way, but I chose to dice the avocado in the skin, so the chunks were more uniform in size.

As I separated the flesh from the skin, using a spoon, it was already in small in cubes.

To the avocado, I added the chopped red onion, and the diced red chili pepper.

Then, I added the salt and pepper to taste plus the fresh lemon juice and tossed gently to combine.

As I said before, I think the salsa made this dish and I would make it again to accompany other meals.

The warm corn cakes are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and when topped with the avocado salsa are a great side dish to serve with a Southwestern or Mexican style meal.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Corn Cakes with Avocado Salsa

2 cups corn

1 (8 oz.) can creamed corn

2 eggs

1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup milk

salsa:

2 avocados, chopped

1 small red onion, diced

1 red jalapeno, diced (remove seeds if you don’t want it really hot)

juice of ½ a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the corn kernels, creamed corn, eggs, cheddar cheese, paprika and salt; mix well.  Add the flour and baking powder; mix well.  Gradually stir in the milk until the batter is not too thick and drops off a spoon easily (it should also not be so thin that it spreads too much when you fry the cakes).  Heat a large frying pan and add some oil.  Fry spoonfuls of the batter until bubbles appear at the top; flip.  Allow to cook on the other side.  Remove from the pan once both sides are browned and cakes are fully cooked and place on paper towels to drain.  In the meantime, combine all the ingredients for the salsa and mix well.  Serve warm cakes with the avocado salsa.