Juicy chicken thighs and fresh squeezed orange juice and zest really make this skillet to oven soy free Chinese Orange Chicken shine!

Chinese Orange Chicken

Coconut aminos is a fantastic substitute for soy sauce. I was thrilled to discover it several years ago, because it is hard to make some favorite Asian dishes without that distinctive salty umami flavor.

As with so many Chinese dishes, there is chopping and dicing required, but this Orange Chicken comes together very quickly after the prep, which can be done at your convenience, or all at once, and there is no messy deep frying. The total cooking time is about 25 minutes from stove to oven. Feel free to serve this with a steaming hot scoop of Jasmine Rice! There is plenty of sauce to meld into the rice. 🙂

Chinese Orange Chicken

Chinese Orange Chicken – Soy Free

Chinese Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pound of boneless chicken thighs, diced into 2 inch pieces

2 Cups of Diced Carrots

1 1/2 Cups of Diced Yellow Onion

1/2 Cup of Sliced Green Scallions

1/4 Cup of Honey

1/3 Cup of a Good Quality Honey or Molasses Sweetened BBQ Sauce (like this or this both gluten free)

Zest and Juice of 1 Large Orange (make sure your microplane grater is sharp to get all the zest like this one)

3 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Aminos (find it here)

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (Garlic Infused if you are eating Low FodMap)

3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt, divided

3/4 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger

Directions: Preheat your oven to 375º degrees. Use a large oven-safe, non-stick skillet, or stainless steel pan.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and warm over medium high heat. Add the diced carrot and onion and a half teaspoon of sea salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the carrots and onions from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan along with the garlic (or garlic infused olive oil) and let it just sizzle. Add the diced chicken. Your pan should still be over medium high heat. Don’t disturb the chicken for about five minutes or until it is browned on the bottom. With a large spatula, flip the chicken pieces to the other side, and brown that side for about five more minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the orange juice, zest, honey, coconut aminos, ginger, cider vinegar, and bbq sauce. When the chicken is browned, add the carrots and onions back in and incorporate. Pour the sauce over the mixture, and let it come to a simmer. Pop the whole pan into the oven and bake for ten minutes. Remove from the oven. The sauce will have thickened just right and the chicken will be cooked through.

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