About the Recipe
Ingredients
4 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 large egg
1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 pinch white pepper
1 cup cornstarch
Sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
6 dried whole red chilies
1 strip orange zest
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
Preparation
Step 1
Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Step 2
Whisk egg in large mixing bowl. Add chicken, salt, sugar, and pepper; mix well. Mix in cornstarch, a little bit at a time, until chicken is well coated.
Step 3
Working in batches, carefully drop one piece of chicken at a time into the hot oil. Fry until chicken turns golden brown and begins to float, about 3 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and allow to cool as you fry the next batch.
Step 4
Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Fry each batch until chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 5
Prepare sauce: Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir until garlic turns golden and chiles brighten, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 6
Add sugar, soy sauce, chicken broth, peanut oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in water until dissolved. Stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute.
Step 7
Stir chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook until chicken is heated through and has absorbed some of the sauce, about 3 minutes.
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