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Thursday, February 14, 2019

"Orange Chicken" by Xiaoqing Z



Orange Chicken. This popular Chinese dish is the definition of midnight comfort food, and it is also a must when Americans visit their local Chinese restaurant to satisfy their cravings. But, in fact, Orange Chicken is not actually Chinese. In the first decade of my life that I have spent in China, dining at an American restaurant was one of those things I did not get to do everyday because American food was overpriced and “unhealthy”. When the adults do decide to take my cousins and I to American restaurants “to shut us up”, Orange Chicken was one of the dishes we have always ordered. The golden popping color, the crunchiness, the mixture of sweet and sour, and the perfectly marinated pieces of meat had always managed to take us to wonderland.
At the age of ten, I boarded the flight that forever changed my life, but I was disappointed by not being able to sit in the window seat; instead, I got the middle seat, in between of the window and aisle seats. During the fourteen hour flight, I was counting down and mentally preparing myself for culture shock while counting how many times the elderly man in the window seat had said “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”, and I still remember, after all these years, he used the restroom too many times. After landing and quickly started to adapt to my new life, nothing was more shocking than finding out that Orange Chicken is a Chinese dish! The ten year-old I had suddenly fallen into confusion. The only way to find the true origin of Orange Chicken is to “google it”, and I clicked on one seemingly credible source (Not Wikipedia), and found out that the first Chinese immigrants have brought the original Mandarin Chicken recipe with them and modified it severely to fit the taste buds of the general American public, in order to make money, of course.
No matter what Orange Chicken’s nationality is, it is still an amazing dish that can lift people from hell to heaven, and you definitely need it if you are going through a break-up, recently lost a job, or received a big fat F after pulling an all nighter studying for that test. But do you really want to spend 10+ minutes driving to a Panda Express with an average rating of 2.5/5 stars on Yelp, and then spend $8.30 (plus tax) on a meal with just rice, vegetables, and chicken? Let me show you the correct way to enjoy this glorious dish at a much lower cost, but have a 5/5 stars experience!
If you are expecting the following to be a recipe of Orange Chicken, then you are very wrong. First of all, I would be a hypocrite if I was to write a recipe for the best Orange Chicken out there, but in reality, I still don’t know how to cook rice with a rice cooker. Second of all, cooking from scratch, in my opinion, wastes too much time and has too many underlying implicit costs, so let me show to the perfect way to heat up frozen Orange Chicken!

The first and most important step is to take a short drive to your local grocery store, preferably Walmart, to pick up a bag or box of frozen Orange Chicken. Walmart is the preferred grocery store because it is the most abundant (you can still find Walmart in some of the most remote towns of North America), has a wide variety of selection, and offers the lowest prices with its “price match” system. (This is not sponsored by Walmart)



Once you have purchased your frozen Orange Chicken, you may now begin the heating process, which comes in two methods.

The Oven Method aka The Preferred Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, which is the perfect temperature that allows the breading to become crispy and the meat to become tender.

  1. Place a desirable amount of chicken on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes depending on the amount of chicken or until golden and crisp. Ladies and Gentlemen, watch out for the calories! The choice is yours.


  1. Meanwhile, thaw the unopened sauce packet that comes with the frozen Orange Chicken in warm water. Once the packet is completely thawed, heat the sauce in a bowl on High in the microwave for 1 minute. Although it is completely safe to microwave the sauce in the packet, I am always concerned with the fact that I might be eating melted plastic.


  1. Place the fully heated chicken into a bowl and pour the heated sauce over the chicken. Mix the chicken with the sauce and Ta Da!


The Stove Top Method aka The Less Preferable Method
If you find yourself to be in a kitchen that does not have an oven or you just want to make your life harder, the Stove Top option is perfect for you!
  1. Heat some oil in a skillet or frying pan, and add a desirable amount of frozen Orange Chicken. If you want a slightly healthier meal, you can use olive oil or other substitutes in the skillet. Again, watch out for the calories! The choice is yours.
  1. Let the chicken cook for 15-18 minutes or until the chicken has reached the perfect level of crisp you desire.

  1. Meanwhile, thaw the unopened sauce packet that comes with the frozen Orange Chicken in warm water. Once the packet is completely thawed, heat the sauce in a bowl on High in the microwave for 1 minute.


  1. Place the fully cooked chicken into a bowl and pour the heated sauce over the chicken. Mix the chicken with the sauce and the chicken is all yours!


You can enjoy Orange Chicken (a piece of art) by itself, with rice, or with noodles. If you are truly a nonconformist, you can also eat Orange Chicken with pasta, in a sandwich, on a pizza...you name it!





37 comments:

  1. Xiaoqing, I really enjoyed reading your blog piece. I'm such a huge plan of orange chicken, I ate it all the time as a little girl, and I still do at times. Good job!

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  2. Even though I don't really eat Orange Chicken that much, the way you described it and gave some background information on it was really cool! Not only that, but you also took the time to go through a tutorial on how to prepare orange chicken yourself! Now that's what I call authenticity!

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  3. Ashley Sierra-TilleryFebruary 19, 2019 at 5:44 PM

    Xiaoqing, You went above and beyond with this How-To and gave personality to a style of writing that can often become impersonal. I enjoyed every aspect of this post, especially your enthusiasm for the food you describe and your account of the meaning it holds with you. Great Work!
    -Ashley Sierra-Tillery

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  4. Amen! I find your inability to cook rice very relatable. It was very interesting to find out orange chicken is served as an American food in China. Your orange chicken looks like it turned out amazing.
    -Grecia Sepulveda

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  5. Stellar piece. Without your guide I would have burned down my kitchen. The multiple ways to cook and warm up the orange chicken was insightful, thought-provoking, and incredibly engaging. Orange chicken has never been easier to cook after reading this blog post, thanks to you!

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  6. I really liked reading the background information to your tutorial. It gave a nice personal touch to yout tutorial. Not only was it entertaining but I learned something new and fun along the way!

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  7. Your instructions on how to make orange chicken is very thorough. Thank you for sharing this information and I hope to make this recipe in the near future. Your background was also great and informing and now I know so much more.

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  8. One of the many foods that I love and crave every so often is orange chicken, and with your instructions I now know and have an idea of how to cook orange chicken. (Julia Avalos)

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  9. Greta job at writing this! I like how you gave background information on orange chicken and how thorough you were in giving instructions on how to make orange chicken. I love orange chicken and thanks to your "how-to" I will be able to make it right. I also enjoyed how you gave different ways to cook the orange chicken. It looks really good.

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  10. Xiaoqing, this how-to was very detailed, as well as riddled with little bits of humor! I actually find it interesting how orange chicken was made to appeal to the American population! I absolutely adore orange chicken, and hopefully I can put these steps into good use by buying my own pack and treating myself!

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  11. Thank you for this very descriptive recipe on how to make orange chicken. As you already know, I cannot cook whatsoever, but your blog encouraged me to expand my boundaries. The images you incorporated inspired me to try to cook once again with the guidance of your recipe. If I need any help, I will be sure to recall back to this blog.

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  12. These instructions for this was really sound I appreciate you sharing this as I absolutely love orange chicken I'll definitely use this information. I appreciate the history behind the cultural significance of orange chicken.

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  13. I liked your piece, especially since I am a big fan of orange chicken. Since I'm not able to make my own orange chicken or generally cook at home, I can definitely use this detailed step by step instruction on how to make orange chicken and fulfill my appetite when I need to.

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  14. I love your piece, I love orange chicken but don't know how to make it until now reading your piece. I found this piece very helpful and your directions were clear.

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  15. Where has this been all my life? I love orange chicken but I'm more likely to accidentally burn the chicken to look like my soul. Thank you so much for this.

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  16. Xiaoqing, your story made me laugh while reading it. I 100% agree with you that the dish is comfort food ready for anything. Because many high schoolers are getting lazier, I think your recipe and tips and tricks will be very handy! Not only were your very descriptive in your instructions, you were also humorous as well! Well done on the recipe!

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  17. I may not be a huge fan of orange chicken but this "how to" paper of yours really opened my eyes to giving it another shot. I really appreciate the images you included and how you explained the simplest important details like cooking time and reminding us about the calories. I never really thought about microwaving frozen orange chicken (I completely forgot that's a thing) so I would like to take this moment to thank you for sharing this set of beautifully written instructions in cooking homemade (frozen) orange chicken. Thanks to you, I am now tempted to walk in to Walmart by a bag of frozen orange chicken.

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  18. Xiaoqing, this might just be one of the greatest recipes of all time. As a future college student, it warms my heart to learn about the recipe to producing the delectable, economic, and now American delicacy of orange chicken. I will be sure to keep a copy of this recipe as I am sent off to the dorms next year, to spread the word of Orange Chicken to all who are of open ears. Overall, your use of humor and back story was very well done and really engaged me when I was reading your work.
    -Lance Anthony Aquino

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  19. Xiaoqing, this is definitely the best orange chicken recipe. I love the humor you used in the story was great and funny. The steps were very easy to follow. I'll be making this at home instead of ramen for now on. Thank you for sharing your recipe a job well done.

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  20. I love orange chicken and I like how you were so thorough with your instructions. I especially liked the visuals, it made it easier to follow along.

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  21. I loved your topic for the instructional post. Although orange chicken isn't an authentic meal from China, it is still a popular and delicious food item in America that spread throughout the other cultures. With the addition of the images, I was able to follow along the instructions more clearly with the instructions guiding me. Thanks to you, I shall never burn or ruin my orange chicken meal and to make sure that I get my orange chicken from the one and only Costco. -Jacob Ramirez

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  22. I am a major orange chicken eater and wow I could not love this piece anymore. Great job on all the specific details you provided to this as well you made it so unique. Also, your suggestions we could add to our orange chicken were very great suggestions. Especially, the one about a healthier type! Nice job. -john b. IV

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  23. I am a major orange chicken eater and wow I could not love this piece anymore. Great job on all the specific details you provided to this as well you made it so unique. Also, your suggestions we could add to our orange chicken were very great suggestions. Especially, the one about a healthier type! Nice job. -john b. IV

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  24. At this point, I wish every single blog post could be instructions on making some sort of food, because each time I do comments, I find out new ways to feed myself! This trend has continued itself with your very detailed and descriptive guid on the process of making orange chicken. Now I can enjoy my steamed rice with some orange chicken! Thank you Xiaoqing!!

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  25. Great post, I liked the more personal introduction and how the beginning really hooks the reader with some good humor. The actual informative part is easy to follow especially with the pictures and is overall great. The most impressive part is that you obviously somehow got this sponsored by Walmart.

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  26. Xiaoqing, I really loved your piece! The specific details and pictures that you included were very helpful and I liked how funny it was. I'm definitely going to give this recipe a try. Great job! (p.s. pls make me some the next time we hang out)

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  27. Wow! Thank you Xiaoqing for a tutorial that I could've have just gotten from the back of the packaging. All jokes aside, this was a very well made how to and I loved how you incorporated your life story in China with the explanation of the dish. Nicely done on your blog!

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  28. This piece was extremely instructional. The pictures that go along with it are very helpful as well, it made it very easy to follow as well as understand. - Julissa Saenz

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  29. Xiaoqing, I LOVED how you started off by explaining the origin of orange chicken and how you personally found that out. The visual representations that you incorporated were very helpful in the comprehension of the instructions. Good job!
    -Brooke Leslie

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  30. For some reason I am always craving orange chicken. I love the fact that you related the topic to a time in your life, while also making it a how to. Your piece gives us the best of both worlds in the way that it is heartfelt and comedic at the same time. Your story brought many smiles and laughs!!
    -Kailee Hinds

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  31. I love the topic of your piece. This was very educational, not because I don't know how to cook frozen meals, but rather because I never knew orange chicken wasn't actually Chinese. I'm not shocked because we have ridiculously Americanized versions of every type of cuisine. Additionally, I enjoyed the sarcasm when you talked about doing the stove top method. Overall, very ironic piece and I loved it.

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  32. Xiaoqing!!! I have always appreciated your deadpan and extremely ingenious sense of humor since middle school and you've displayed it so naturally through a body of work that contains one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this recipe and will be applying these methods to my next gluttonous expedition. Amazing work!

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  33. Orange chicken is one of my favorite Chinese food and you have explained how to make it in a simple and very understandable way. The steps were clear and straight to the point and easy to follow. This will go great with the steamed rice I learned to make in another blog. Great job.

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  34. Thanks for providing an informative post on preparing orange chicken and giving us a little look into your immigration to the U.S. Both portions of this post were enjoyable to read. I will definitely use your instructions on cooking orange chicken to help get me through college when I'm too lazy to cook anything other than sweet and tangy orange chicken. As a result of this post, I don't think I will ever burn or under-cook another piece of orange chicken. ~Ryan Kang

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  35. I love that you gave a background on Orange Chicken and even added a bit of your own coming to America story into this how-to. The recipe sounds great and the humor you added in really makes a difference in this, overall really interesting and engaging.-Leslie

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  36. I love orange chicken, and my mom leaves me alone sometimes without making anything and I have to make myself some food, and this is very helpful so that if I wanna make something not that complicated but still feel accomplished at the same time I know what to do

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  37. this how to was very well written it explained everything pretty thoroughly. It was entertaining with the way you had little bits of humor implanted within the how to. Also i didn't know that orange chicken is American food in china thanks for the background info.
    Alejandro Marquez

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