Mildly spicy and sweet, this Air Fryer Orange Chicken so tasty! Serve it with rice and you are ready to enjoy a hearty dinner which is better than any takeout!
In a bowl add chicken and add salt, black pepper powder, soy sauce, and egg. Mix well.
In another bowl add the cornstarch. Dip the egg coated chicken in the cornstarch and place it on a plate or pan, set aside.
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Spray the basket with nonstick olive oil cooking spray then put the coated chicken pieces in it.
Spray the chicken (VERY LIBERALLY) with the nonstick olive oil cooking spray. The cooking oil spray is going to give the chicken is crunchy coating. Cook for 5 minutes on one side.
Flip the chicken pieces over. Again, spray the chicken very liberally with the cooking spray. Cook until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165F degrees. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. Set aside.
Sauce:
In a bowl combine together orange juice, brown sugar, chili flakes, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.
Heat the mixture in a pan, over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl mix 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Add this into the orange sauce and cook for 3 minutes (stirring occasionally until thickened).
Once the sauce is thickened, add the orange zest and mix everything together.
Finally add all the cooked chicken pieces and toss it together until they are all coated in the sauce.
Remove from heat and serve over cooked rice. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onion (optional).
Notes
Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Chicken tenderloins or chicken thighs can be used in place of chicken breasts.
Don't overcrowd your chicken in the air fryer. I know it's tempting to pop it all in there but the chicken won't crisp up if you do that. Air needs to circulate around each piece so you'll need to do this in batches.
If you have a basket air fryer, you may want to shake the basket a time or two during the last few minutes of cooking.
This can be frozen, see the tips above.
Spraying the chicken pieces with oil is super important to this recipe. Since we aren't actually frying the chicken in oil, we are simulating that process with the cooking spray. You want the pieces sprayed very well since this is what is going to help the coating crisp up a bit. The chicken won't be quite as crispy as oil frying but they should have a nice golden coating.
Coconut Oil or Olive oil cooking spray will work best.