Air Fryer Orange Chicken is crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and drenched in an irresistible sweet-savory sauce made with orange juice and zest.
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The first bite of this dish had me hooked: shatter-crisp coating, tender chicken, then the sauce, sweet and a little sharp from fresh orange zest, catching in every crack of the crust. It doesn’t happen by accident. Getting a crust that survives a hot, sticky sauce took more testing than I expected. A double dredge of flour and cornstarch turned out to be the fix.
The sauce itself is fresh squeezed orange juice and real zest, not the bottled stuff standing in for it, built up with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger so it’s savory as much as sweet.
This isn’t a dish from China, modified for American taste. It’s American Chinese food: a dish invented here in the US, made with Chinese ingredients (soy sauce, ginger, garlic) and technique, but designed from the start for a more mainstream American palate. Rumor has it Panda Express is responsible for the version most of us grew up on. There’s even a frozen Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken that people go nuts for.
What is air fryer orange chicken?
This recipe starts with my basic recipe for Air Fryer Fried Chicken (be sure to read my post on How to Air Fry Chicken for some tips for success) and adds a simple soy sauce-based marinade and a quick sauce made with orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, and other ingredients.
Bite size pieces of chicken marinate for anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight. Then they’re dredged in egg and a flour-and-cornstarch mixture and air fried to crispy perfection.
Once the chicken pieces are air fried, toss them with the irresistible savory-sweet orange sauce to coat.
I love to eat the sticky, crunchy chicken nuggets with my fingers, and lick the sauce off. It’s seriously finger-licking good.
Ingredient Notes
There are 3 parts to this recipe: the marinade, the coating mixture, and the sauce. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but most are pantry staples, and several repeat between the marinade and sauce. A few notes:
Chicken: I like thigh meat because it’s juicier and more flavorful, but leaner breast meat works too, see the FAQ below for how to adjust.
Shaoxing wine: A staple I always have on hand for Chinese cooking. It’s a dry cooking wine, not sweet like mirin. Find it at any Asian market. In a pinch, substitute sake, dry white wine, or dry sherry.
Chile paste: I use a basic chile paste, just chiles and salt. My go-to is Sambal Oelek, though other brands work fine. Just don’t grab chile garlic paste by mistake, it’s good, but it’s not what this recipe calls for. You’ll find it in most supermarkets and any Asian market.
Tips for success
- First, check out my post on How to Make Air fryer Fried Chicken to learn how to make perfectly crunchy, golden brown air fried chicken.
- I like to use a combination of all-purpose flour and cornstarch (or potato starch) to dredge the chicken. The reason I do this is that the flour works really well to give the coating a nice golden brown color and the cornstarch makes it nice and crispy. I have tried doing all flour, but found the coating just doesn’t get as crisp as I like. And I’ve tried doing all cornstarch and it is nice and crisp (and light!) but the color isn’t as nice. If I had to choose one, I’d go with all cornstarch, but I think the combo is ideal.
- I use freshly squeezed orange juice. This is kind of a no-brainer since you need an orange for the zest. I find it usually takes 2 good-size oranges to get enough juice. Also, don’t skip the zest because adds an extra boost of orange flavor that you don’t get from the juice alone. Just remember to zest the oranges first, before you cut and them to squeeze out the juice.
What to Serve It With
Orange chicken wants something plain underneath it and something crisp or sharp alongside it, so the sauce has somewhere to land and something to cut against. My Easy Takeout-Style Pork Fried Rice or Chinese Sesame Noodles both work as the base, but steamed rice is also a perfect—and simple—pairing.
For contrast, Spicy Cucumber Salad is cold and sharp against the hot, sticky chicken. Or, if you want something milder, a simple Japanese Cucumber Salad is refrshing and light.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
My chicken burned, or the coating stuck to the basket. Air fryer baskets vary more than ovens do. The same 400°F setting can run noticeably hotter in some models. Start checking at the 5-minute mark on each side rather than waiting the full 8, and pull the chicken as soon as it’s deep golden brown. If coating is sticking, always cook on a perforated parchment liner or a silicone liner, never straight on a bare metal basket, and make sure you’re spritzing or brushing the coating with oil before it goes in, not after. A cold or dry basket surface is what grabs the coating. Oil on the chicken itself is what releases it.
My coating isn’t crispy. Two usual culprits: skipping the double dredge (flour, egg, flour), or crowding the basket. Give the pieces space to let air circulate on all sides, and cook in two batches if you need to.
Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh? Yes. Cut it into similar bite-size pieces and keep an eye on the air fryer time. Breast cooks a little faster than thigh and can dry out if you push past golden brown.
Can I make this ahead? The sauce holds well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it gently on the stove. The chicken itself is best fried and sauced just before serving so the coating stays crisp. If you need a head start, marinate and dredge ahead, then fry and sauce right before eating.
How do I reheat leftovers and keep them crispy? Skip the microwave, it steams the coating soft. Reheat in the air fryer at 350°F for 3 to 4 minutes, until hot through and re-crisped.
Air Fryer Orange Chicken
Robin Donovan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into bite-size chunks
For the marinade
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For coating
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- Cooking oil for brushing or spritzing
For the sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chile paste optional, or add more to taste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- 4 scallions thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the marinade ingredients (2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons ginger, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper). Add the chicken and stir to coat the chicken well. Cover and marinate for at least 20 minutes or as long as 24 hours (refrigerate if marinating for longer than 20 minutes).
- Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and cornstarch. Put the eggs in a second bowl. Line the air fryer basket with a parchment paper liner or a silicone liner if using.
- Dredge each chicken piece in the flour mixture first, then dunk it into the egg, then dredge again in the flour mixture so that it is completely coated. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. As the chicken pieces are coated, arrange them in a single layer in the air fryer with a little space in between. You may need to cook the chicken in 2 batches.
- Line the air fryer basket with a perforated parchment paperliner, if using.
- Spritz or brush the chicken pieces with oil so that all of the flour is wet.
- Air fry at 400ºF for 5 to 8 minutes.
- Flip the chicken pieces over, spritz or brush with more oil, and fry for 5 to 8 more minutes at 400ºF, until golden brown and crisp.
- While the chicken is air frying, make the sauce. In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest, rice vinegar, chile paste, garlic, and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved. While the sauce is boiling, add the cornstarch and water slurry and continue to cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute more.
- When the chicken is done, toss the chicken and sauce together in a bowl to coat the chicken pieces well.
- Serve hot, garnished with scallions and sesame seeds, if using.
Notes
Nutrition
16 minutes gave me burnt chicken. Also the breading all stuck to the air fryer. The sauce is good but this recipe does not work as written.
I wonder if your air fryer is hotter than others? I have made this recipe numerous times with no issues and numerous others have reported success with it. But every air fryer is going to be a bit different. Try reducing the time or the temp next time. As for the sticking, I find this is always a problem with any kind of coated foods in an air fryer, which is why I recommend using a perforated parchment paper or silicone liner in the basket.
Hi, I know recipe calls for 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast but how much is 1 serving – the entire dish or a certain portion?
My apologies! I switched recipe cards recently and for some reason the yield info isn’t showing up now. This recipe serves 6, so the nutritional information is for 1/6th of the recipe.
So good!! I have to admit that I didn’t do the chicken in the air fryer – I ended up putting a little bit of oil in a cast iron skillet and just frying it on both sides. Also, I doubled the sauce— but the sauce is absolutely amazing! I also sprinkled the chicken with Himalayan salt as it was cooking. I will definitely keep this recipe.
Hi, I’m excited to make it, but was wondering what would you recommend to substitute the egg due to allergy?
I don’t know a lot about egg substitutes since I don’t cook for anyone with an egg allergy, so I’m afraid I’m not much help. I would think whatever you normally use as an egg substitute would work?
Thank you! I’m going to try a flour-water mix and hope for the best 🙂
I have an egg allergy and I just use olive oil in place of egg.
“Orange Chicken is my favorite dish. I literally cook this item often.
But, I think cooking this item with air fryer will be more healthy.
I usually follow Air Fryer Orange Chicken Recipe.”
It took a long time to air fry 1.5 pounds of cut up chicken, but it was pretty good. The sauce was the best part. Make sure you use brown sugar or an equivalently sweet substitute. Don’t do what i did and use palm sugar and think it’s the same just because its brown!