Orange chicken uses marmalade, jelly, jam, or preserves to make a sauce with vinegar and vinaigrette. It’s a great adaptable recipe since you can use other meats and change up the taste by the sweet you choose and the spices you choose. This is one of our favorites for using those specialty preserves you find in the farmer’s market or get as a gift.
You will need a saucepan, measuring spoons, a spatula and a grill or baking pan. First I’ll go over the recipe in the standard version. I’ll give you tips on mix and match with this recipe later.
Cook the chicken tenders. You can do this by applying a meat rub and grilling outdoors or baking in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Drain the mandarin oranges. I look for oranges that are in pear juice, or something that is not heavy syrup.
In a saucepan, stir together orange marmalade, vinegar, and salad dressing over medium high heat. Stir until it becomes a smooth sauce. Turn the heat to low.
Add pumpkin pie spice and drained oranges. Stir gently.
Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Serve with slivered or sliced almonds and a vegetable medley. I mix carrots, snow peas, and black beans. Serves 4.
Now for the remixes:
- Meat: use turkey loin cut into 4-inch square cutlets
- Marmalade: our favorites are tomato jam or apricot-peach-passion fruit preserves. Onion jam or blackberry preserves work. Experiment with savory and sweet that go well with chicken.
- Fruit: use pineapple chunks, peaches, or for old school flavor, use canned fruit cocktail
- Vinegar: our favorite is Blueberry BBQ Sauce from The Vivian Howard Shop. Experiment with red wine vinegar or other specialty vinegars
- Salad dressing: our favorite is mandarin-ginger-poppy seed. Try Italian, onion, or other vinaigrette type.
- Spice: our favorite is powdered li hing mui, made from salted dried plums (a Hawaiian treat!). You might try five spice or Bavarian spice.
Orange chicken is sweet and savory with mandarin oranges, preserves, and vinegar. Lots of alternatives versions provided. Healthy and very tasty. You can make it as fruity or savory as you wish.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken tenders
- 1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
- 4 tbsp orange marmalade
- 2 tbsp citrus or red wine vinaigrette salad dressing
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 8 tbsp toasted slivered or sliced almonds
- 2 cups steamed vegetables
Instructions
- You will need a saucepan, measuring spoons, a spatula and a grill or baking pan.
- First I'll go over the recipe in the standard version. I'll give you tips on mix and match with this recipe later.
- Cook the chicken tenders. You can do this by applying a meat rub and grilling outdoors or baking in the oven for about 20 minutes.
- Drain the mandarin oranges. I look for oranges that are in pear juice, or something that is not heavy syrup.
- In a saucepan, stir together orange marmalade, vinegar, and salad dressing over medium high heat. Stir until it becomes a smooth sauce. Turn the heat to low.
- Add pumpkin pie spice and drained oranges. Stir gently.
- Add the cooked chicken and heat through.
- Serve with slivered or sliced almonds and a vegetable medley. I mix carrots, snow peas, and black beans. Serves 4.
Nutrition for orange chicken with mandarin oranges
1 whole recipe of orange chicken with mandarin oranges is about 1470 calories. 1 serving is about 368 calories. Nutrition facts are approximations.
Resource links for orange chicken with mandarin oranges
- https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-tomato-jam-247279
- How to make sweet and savory tomato jam from The Kitchn
- https://www.saveur.com/blueberry-barbecue-chicken-recipe
- Vivian Howard’s blueberry barbecue chicken from Saveur
- https://www.snackhawaii.com/blogs/news/5-ways-to-use-li-hing-mui-powder
- 5 ways to use li hing mui powder from Snack Hawaii
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This reminds me of a salad I used to get at the Magic Pan restaurant – the oranges and almonds together are great! I’ll need to try this one – Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party! Hope the rest of your week is fantastic!
My hometown had a Magic Pan, too! I like how many ways you can make this recipe. Orange marmalade is different from savory tomato jam.