Wednesday, February 6, 2013

(healthier) orange chicken & vegetable stir-fry.

My husband and I have been trying to eat healthier, as well as trying to eat at home more often. My go-to healthy meals mostly rely on organic lean beef or wild salmon (we love Pike Place!). However, I have more difficulty when it comes to free-range, organic chicken unless it's in a soup or stew. It tends to turn out more bland for my taste, but my husband always seems to enjoy it--maybe he's trying to make me feel better.

Anyway, I lucked out today: Here's a recipe of a healthier version of orange chicken. I say healthier, because it still isn't the best way to eat your chicken, but it's better than the restaurant versions and has a nice orange flavor.

For our ingredients, I try to find the simplest ingredients. Always check the nutritional content and ingredients list. The simpler and less there are, the better. The lower the sugar and sodium content, the better. AND the less ingredients that your grandma wouldn't know/can't pronounce, the better.



Ingredients.
  • 1 lb free-range chicken breast (sliced or cubed)
  • chopped broccoli and carrots (I'm a huge fan of veggies, so I figure the more the merrier)
  • 1/2 of chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup orange juice (not from concentrate)
  • 1-2 tbsp organic orange marmalade (less ingredients/more natural the better) (amount varies upon how sweet you'd like it)
  • 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp organic ketchup (tomato puree and vinegar, basically. possibly some sugar)
  • 1 tbsp sriracha hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce (again, more natural the better)
  • 1 tbsp minced/crushed garlic
  • 1 tbsp gluten free flour
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • garlic salt and pepper to taste
  • extra-virgin olive oil
If you want more citrus flavor, add more OJ, marmalade, lemon juice, and/or orange zest.

If you want a sweeter flavor, add more marmalade and ketchup.

Method.
  1. Mix OJ, marmalade, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic & ginger in a bowl. Set aside
  2. Steam broccoli & carrots.
  3. While steaming, heat up sauce mixture in a pan. Once it starts to bubble, remove from heat & put in a bowl. Set aside.
  4. Heat a clean skillet/wok, add EVOO and onion
  5. Season chicken w/ salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet
  6. Spoon some of the sauce mixture (should still be hot), just a few spoonfuls, onto the chicken. Let the chicken cook through.
  7. Add steamed vegetables.
  8. Add the rest of the sauce.
  9. Add the flour to help thicken the mixture.
  10. Add in the ketchup and sriracha.
  11. While it is thickening, reduce heat to low. Simmer some more until most of the liquid has cooked off.
  12. Serve with your choice of brown or white rice.
End result? Not so much orange in color, but still tangy and delicious. Husband approved.

Again, if you want more of that citrus flavor, add more OJ, marmalade, lemon juice, and/or orange zest! Enjoy!

1 comment:

doreese said...

Orange marmalade! Is this in most stores?? like what section?? Jam?? lol
I want to make this! I love orange chicken but I swear all the restaurants use like massive MSG... lol