Orange Chicken

About

Say goodbye to over-fried, mystery-cut chicken pieces cooked in unhealthy oils and coated in sugar-loaded sauces. This Keto version of orange chicken makes the homemade style look way more appetizing than takeout. Juicy white meat chicken is battered in a one-ingredient, zero-carb frying batter. Then, it’s fried in Keto avocado oil and tossed in an orange sauce that is perfectly sweet and made with natural flavors. You only need liquid stevia to sweeten your Keto orange sauce, which doesn’t add any net carbs to your meal. You can eat the Keto orange chicken with your favorite Carb Manager side dish, or you can store the chicken in meal prep containers or Tupperware for use throughout the week. For a complete meal, you can follow the Carb Manager Orange Chicken Fried Rice Bowls recipe. Keto orange chicken tastes great with cauliflower rice, mixed grilled vegetables, or over shirataki noodles.

Are Oranges Keto-Friendly?

To make the Keto orange chicken sauce, you only need a little bit of fresh-squeezed orange juice. While oranges are healthy with lots of fiber, the fiber and natural sugar add up to about 12 grams of carbohydrates in one small orange. On the Keto diet, that’s just too much for a snack-sized food without any fat included. However, you can use orange juice to flavor or marinate foods! One fluid ounce of fresh orange juice only has about 3 grams of carbs.

How Come I Only Need Egg To Fry Chicken?

The one-ingredient frying batter is made with a single egg white, nothing more and nothing less. When you whip an egg white, the white becomes filled with air bubbles. It’s the air bubbles that do the magic for you. Not only is the egg white now the perfect texture for sticking to foods without dripping off, but it can also fry extremely fast when it hits hot frying oil. The air bubbles remain intact during frying, which results in a “light as air”, crispy coating on your fried food.

Ingredients

½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoon orange juice raw
½ teaspoon sauce soy
10 drops liquid stevia
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
¾ teaspoon paleo baking flour
1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
12 oz chicken breast boneless skinless raw
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ginger, ground
3 tablespoon avocado oil
1 large raw egg, white

Instructions

Make the sauce first so it has time to cool and thicken for later. In a small pot, combine chicken broth, orange juice, soy sauce, liquid stevia, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds. Heat the pot over medium heat until it is hot enough to simmer. Then, remove a ¼ cup of liquid and whisk the paleo flour into the removed liquid until the flour dissolves. Slowly pour the thickened liquid back into the pot as you stir the sauce.
Stir the pot over the heat until you see it begin to reduce and thicken. Then, add the butter to the pot. Continually stir more as the butter melts and a thickened, buttery sauce develops. When the orange sauce can coat the back of a spoon then the sauce is done. Set the pot aside to cool for later on.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and cut it into one or two-bite pieces about 2×1 ½ -inches big. If you can purchase chicken breast that has already been cut into chicken tender strips, it will be even easier for you to measure and cut them. Toss the chicken pieces into a bowl and season them with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and ginger powder. Set the bowl of chicken aside as you begin to heat the avocado oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan. Add enough avocado oil to the pan until it’s about 2-inches deeps (this may be more than what’s listed in the ingredients, which you won’t consume).
Heat the avocado oil in your wok or pan over medium-high heat until it’s hot enough for frying. While the oil is heating, quickly crack the egg white into a stand mixer with a whip attachment. Whip the egg whites on high speed until you have medium-stiff peaks – this should only take a few minutes. The oil should be ready for frying and the egg whites will be whipped at about the same time. Use a spatula to add whipped egg white to the bowl of chicken pieces, and gently fold the chicken over in the egg whites until they’re coated in them (like a frying batter).
One by one, use a pair of tongs to drop the battered chicken pieces in the hot avocado oil. Let the chicken fry on one side for 2-3 minutes or until they’re golden on that side. Flip the chicken over in the oil and continue frying. Once the chicken is golden on all sides, you can continue flipping in 30-second increments until you have darker golden, crispy fried chicken. Fry all the chicken and transfer the cooked pieces to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
After the chicken has drained and cooled enough to handle, transfer all the fried chicken to a larger, clean mixing bowl. Pour the thickened orange sauce from Step 1 over the chicken in the bowl. Gently fold the chicken over until it’s all coated in sticky orange sauce. At your discretion, you can add more flavor to the chicken by adding chopped green onion, extra sesame seeds, or zested orange rind. Store finished orange chicken that is completely cooled in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.