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Bring excitement and flavor to ordinary dinners with this delicious orange chicken salad. Fresh salad topped with chicken smothered in lip-smacking orange sauce!
The sun is out and the weather is getting nicer, just how I like it to be!
As many of you know, we moved to Boston in September and well, the first couple of months spent settling down, then came Thanksgiving and Christmas craze and then of course, all the snow. So we basically haven't seen a lot of Boston yet and I'm dying to go on different adventures with Kyle around Boston area. Now that the weather is getting better, we are working on a solid plan to visit places every week because who know where life will take us next?
One place we managed to go before it started snowing was China town, how fun is that? Now I know for you, my American readers, China town is a casual place but for me, being a some-how new immigrant, China town is full of wonders. A day spent in China town is an adventurous day.
We went to China town on a Sunday as a very good Chinese restaurant serves a la cart dim sum and they were amazing, I ate so much I could barely move afterwards, zero regret though, I was there to enjoy every bite of those tasty treats.
Then we walked through the district, visited different shops and craft stores, my oh my how amazing the crafts were, the colors, bright and gorgeous. And you can bargain and get a discount, that's something I missed so much since I moved to the US. Bargaining is so common in Iran and Turkey and sometimes, if you're good, you can get great discount.
After spending the day in China town and trying so many different foods, we were so tired and so ready to go home and relax for the rest of the evening and have some easy light dinner with a refreshing drink, as I was still in China world and inspired by Chinese flavors, I whipped up a quick orange chicken salad and we had it with Aquafina Sparkling Orange Grapefruit.
Aquafina Sparkling comes in 4 different flavors and has 1.0 calories, 0 sugar and no artificial flavors. There are two new flavors in an 8-pack option: Mango Pineapple and Black Cherry Drangon fruit, I'm so excited to try both! This time, I got Aquafina Sparkling Orange Grapefruit and it paired so well with our orange chicken salad. The citrus flavor in the salad and in the drink put a refreshing end to our adventurous day in China town!
To make this easy orange chicken salad, I made an orange sauce using some basic ingredients. The main ingredient is of course, orange juice. The key to a good orange sauce is to use a high quality orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed, and its zest. The zest gives so much flavor to the sauce so don't skip it.
I coated the chicken pieces with cornstarch and then cooked them in a pan. The cornstarch makes the chicken crispy and golden which is exactly what we are looking for when making orange chicken salad.
The chicken is so flavorful that I didn't see the need to make a dressing for the salad because the orange sauce is combined with all the salad ingredients once it's mixed.
After a long day full of events, adventures and fun activities, this orange chicken salad was the perfect dinner to have!
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Orange Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Orange Sauce:
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 orange zest and juice
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup water
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
Chicken:
- 12 - 14 oz chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Orange Chicken Salad:
- Orange Chicken
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 4 tomatoes cut into quarters
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 orange sliced
- ½ cup croutons homemade or store-bought
- ¼ cup parsley
Instructions
Orange Sauce:
- Whisk all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until thickens.
Chicken:
- Heat coconut oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Mix chicken pieces and cornstarch in a ziplock bag until the pieces are covered with cornstarch on all sides.
- Cook the chicken in the pan until golden brown on all sides and fully cooked.
- Pour the thickened orange sauce into the pan and stir.
- Cook for 5-8 minutes.
Orange Chicken Salad:
- Chop the romaine lettuce and place it in a large salad platter. Place the orange chicken in the middles and distribute cucumbers, tomatoes, orange piece, croutons and parsley.
Nutrition
I got my Aquafina Sparkling from Target in an 8-pack. There will be tasting of Aquafina Sparkling in Certain Target locations so check out your local Target next time!
Samantha K
That salad sounds amazing! (client)
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
thank you 🙂