Panda Express Orange Chicken

5 from 1 vote

Crispy copycat Panda Express orange chicken is coated in a sweet sauce with bold takeout flavor and a secret ingredient that makes it taste just like the real thing.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Asian American

Keyword: Copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken, panda express copycat, Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe

Servings: Servings

Author: Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

Chicken

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 large egg
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup canola oil or vegetable oil more if needed

Orange Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup distilled vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons orange extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon ginger paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon orange zest about 1 medium orange

Instructions

Place 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs in a large ziplock bag. Sprinkle the chicken with ½ teaspoon garlic salt. Crack 1 large egg on top of the chicken and massage it in with your hand to coat the chicken.
Add ½ cup cornstarch and ½ cup all-purpose flour on top of the chicken. Seal the bag and shake to coat the chicken well.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 1 cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup distilled vinegar, ¼ cup soy sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons orange extract, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon minced garlic, ½ teaspoon ginger paste, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon orange zest.
In a large skillet or wok, add ⅓ cup canola oil or vegetable oil and heat over medium-high. Once the oil is hot enough, add the coated chicken. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until cooked through and browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Returning to the skillet over medium-high heat, add the orange sauce. Whisk and heat the sauce for 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened.
Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet. Toss the chicken in the sauce to coat it well. Heat the sauce with the chicken for about 2 minutes. The sauce will thicken more as it sticks to the chicken. Garnish with red pepper flakes and serve over rice.

Notes

Leftover Instructions

Fridge: If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheating: Warm in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Nutrition

QR code

Scan this QR code with your phone's camera to view this recipe on your mobile device.

Panda Express Orange Chicken https://neuro-daily.report/panda-express-orange-chicken/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-339268":{"type":"food","name":"Panda Express Orange Chicken","slug":"wprm-panda-express-orange-chicken","image_url":"https:\/\/therecipecritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/panda-express-orange-chicken-2.jpg","rating":{"count":1,"total":5,"average":5,"type":{"comment":1,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"pounds","name":"boneless skinless chicken thighs","notes":"cut into 1-inch pieces","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"pounds","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122329,"id":6061,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"pounds","unitParsed":"pounds"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","name":"garlic salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122218,"id":7281,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"1","unit":"large","name":"egg","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"large","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122215,"id":643,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"large","unitParsed":"large"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"cornstarch","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122214,"id":843,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122214,"id":869,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"\u2153","unit":"cup","name":"canola oil or vegetable oil","notes":"more if needed","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122214,"id":121031,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u2153","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"granulated sugar","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"cup","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122214,"id":615,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"\u00be","unit":"cup","name":"distilled vinegar","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"cup","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122214,"id":123738,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"soy sauce","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2wEedgz","nofollow":"nofollow"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122214,"id":831,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":12,"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"teaspoons","name":"orange extract","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122225,"id":96212,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 \u00bd","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"uid":13,"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","name":"cornstarch","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122223,"id":843,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":17,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","name":"minced garlic","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122218,"id":923,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":18,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","name":"ginger paste","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122218,"id":99944,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":19,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","name":"red pepper flakes","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122218,"id":2409,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":20,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"orange zest","notes":"about 1 medium orange","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","timestamp":1777855476000},"unit_id":122217,"id":3389,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"favorite":false,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"servingsUnit":"Servings","servingsUnitRaw":"Servings","originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"type":"recipe","recipeId":339268,"name":"Panda Express Orange Chicken","image":"https:\/\/therecipecritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/panda-express-orange-chicken-2-300x300.jpg","servings":4,"parent_id":"339267","parent_url":"https:\/\/therecipecritic.com\/panda-express-orange-chicken\/","cachedAt":1779846979,"modifiedAt":1778738495}}}