Keto Orange Chicken

If you hadn’t noticed, I have a thing for recreating popular Asian restaurant dishes. There’s something about Chinese takeout that almost everyone can agree on — it’s delicious.

BUT, there is also another thing that most everyone in my community can agree on — these dishes are pretty much off limits if you can’t have gluten, grains, or refined sugars.

Hence the reason I take it upon myself to recreate all of our favorites!

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At every Chinese restaurant you go to, orange chicken is always one of the most popular items on the menu. This dish is one of my personal favorites whenever I would get Chinese food. But when I gave up the gluten, grains, and refined sugars, well, I said bye-bye to the sweet and tangy dish.

All that said, I am now so excited to have perfected a HEALTHIER gluten-free, grain-free, AND low-carb/keto version of the dish with a sauce that is SO.DARN. GOOD. Trust me, this recipe took a few trail runs and and some serious tweaking with each batch. But now I can honestly tell you that this orange chicken will give your favorite takeout dish a solid run for its money! You can easily make this dish within the comfort of your own home and make it perfect for your whatever your dietary needs are.

To make the sauce keto friendly I used Zevia Orange Soda as the base to help bring out the orange flavor in the sauce. I really like using the Zevia brand soda as a keto sauce base because it has zero sugar and it really helps bring out the flavor of dishes like this. In this case, you could also use orange juice, but that’s not going to allow the recipe to stay keto. If you want to make this recipe paleo friendly, you can use orange juice instead of the zevia and substitute real honey as a replacement for the sugar-free honey.

A quick note on the sugar-free honey. In order to keep this recipe keto and low-carb, I use sugar-free honey in it. I have been testing out many different brands trying to find the best ones to use and so far these ones are my go to:

• Sukrin Gold Syrup & Honey Alternative

• Mrs. Taste Bee Free Vegan Honey (Zero Sugar)

• Nature’s Hollow Honey Sub Sugar Free

The Nature’s Hollow brand can cause a little bit of digestive upset for some people, but not everyone. The other three are really gentle on your stomach. All of the brands will work great in this recipe.

Keto Orange Chicken

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Yield: 4 Servings

Author: Brittany Angell

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 lb Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 Large Eggs, Whisked
• 1 Cup Lupin Flour (I like Lupina Brand and Lodi Brand)
• 1/2 Cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
• 2 Tsp Himalayan Salt
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum
• Neutral tasting, high-heat stable oil for frying (like Avocado Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, or Lard)

Orange Sauce

• 3/4 Cup Zevia Orange Soda
• 1/2 Cup Sugar-free Honey (see my note above about favorite brands!)
• 1 Tsp Tapioca Starch
• 1 Tsp Fresh Ginger, Grated
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
• 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
• Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• Orange Food Coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. Place a medium pan on the stove for frying. Fill it with 1-2 inches of high heat stable oil of choice and heat over medium-high heat to around 275 degrees. There is some flexibility with the temperature up to 300 degrees. For a clean oil use avocado oil, coconut oil, or lard. While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken.
2. In a small bowl, add the eggs and lightly whisk until the yolks and whites are thoroughly combined.
3. In another small bowl, whisk together the lupin flour, garbanzo bean flour, salt, baking powder, and xanthan or guar gum.
4. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture first and then into the breading mixture, making sure that the chicken is well coated. Check the oil. If the oil bubbles liberally when one piece of the breaded chicken is added, it’s ready for frying.
5. Add the breaded chicken the oil in batches (this recipe took me about 5 batches) so the pan doesn’t get overcrowded. This ensures everything can brown evenly. Fry each batch for about 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the breading is a perfect golden brown color. Note: if you chicken browns too quickly, this means that the oil is too hot!
6. Remove the chicken from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set aside.
7. To make the sauces, add the orange soda, honey, tapioca starch, ginger, sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and coloring (if using) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the sauce to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the sauce begins to slightly thicken.
8. Once the sauce has thickened, toss the chicken in the sauce making sure everything is well coated. Serve with cauliflower rice and enjoy!