Spicy Orange Chicken

Everyone who lives in America should be familiar with this Chinese-American orange chicken commonly found at Chinese fast food restaurants. What makes this dish so special is the combination of orange flavor and the sweetness. I choose to make this orange chicken in my kitchen for its flavor but I made it more spicy with little sweetness  and this is the Indo-Chinese-American version  of orange chicken. For the orange flavor I replaced orange peel (zest) for orange juice just for no reason and I felt juice is better than zest and if you wish, you could very well use the orange peel and remember that you have to soak the zest in water for half an hour before using it. The both spiciness and sweetness made this dish really awesome so please don’t consider adding sugar or brown sugar as optional, I would say it is the secret ingredient which adds more flavor and taste to the dish.

Ingredient
For marinating
Boneless Chicken – 1lb
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Soy sauce – 1tsp
Vinegar – 1tsp
Cornstarch – 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients
Carrot and Bell pepper – 1 cup
Onion – ½ of one chopped
Ginger Chopped – 1 tsp
Garlic Chopped – 2tsp
Orange juice – 1/3 Cup
Ketchup – 1tsp
Chili Garlic sauce – 2 tsp (add according to your taste)
Brown Sugar to taste
Soy Sauce – 2 tsp
Vinegar – 1tsp
Cornstarch – 1tsp mix with water
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Oil to deep fry the chicken

Method
Marinate the chicken with the ingredients under 'for marinating' and keep refrigerated for minimum 1 hr and deep fry in oil and transfer to the kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan or wok and garlic and ginger and fry till aromatic and add onion and all the veggies and fry for few mins and add the orange juice with little water and add the chili garlic sauce and soy sauce and salt and pepper and cook for 5 mins. Add the brown sugar and ketchup and mix and add the chicken pieces and cook if you want the gravy to be thick add the cornstarch water or just to your desired consistency. Enjoy with white rice or fried rice.

Note: Increase or decrease the amount brown sugar depending on the sweetness you need.