Marsha's "Panda Express" Orange Chicken

*This recipe is low-carb if you omit or sub serving over/with rice.

Scott and I are addicted to Panda Express Orange Chicken, and so I found this great copy-cat recipe in the internet a few years back. It's a little time intensive, but the end results are GREAT! This is a pretty frequently requested recipe from my stash. We did make some changes to the original, so I have posted both versions here. Enjoy!  The picture came from the Panda Express website, and I originally got this recipe from the Top Secret Recipes website, but I have since changed it up to suit our tastes, and so this is Marsha's version.

Marsha's “Panda Express” Orange Chicken

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups water

3 Tbl. orange juice concentrate

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/8 cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

7 teaspoons corn starch

3 tablespoons water

Chicken:

4 chicken breast fillets

1 cup ice water

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups unsifted cake flour

2-4 cups vegetable oil

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients -- except the corn starch and arrowroot -- in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil. When sauce reaches a boil, remove it from heat and allow it to cool a bit, uncovered.

2. Slice chicken breasts into bite-size chunks. Remove exactly 1 cup of the marinade from the pan and pour it over the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or other container which allows the chicken to be completely covered with the marinade. The chicken should marinate for at least a couple hours. Cover the remaining sauce and leave it to cool until the chicken is ready.

3. When chicken has marinated, preheat 2-inches of vegetable oil in a wok or skillet to 350 degrees.

4. Combine corn starch with arrowroot in a small bowl, then add 3 tablespoons of water. Stir until corn starch and arrowroot have dissolved. Pour this mixture into the sauce and set the pan over high heat. When sauce begins to bubble and thicken cover and remove it from heat.

5. Beat together the ice water and egg in a medium bowl. Add baking soda and salt.

6. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir with a fork just until the flour in blended into the mixture. The batter should still be lumpy.

7. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of flour on top of the batter and mix with only one or two strokes. Most of the new flour will still floating on top of the mixture. Put the remaining flour (1/2 cup) into a separate medium bowl.

8. Dip each piece of chicken first into the flour, then into the batter. Let some of the batter drip off and then slide the chicken into the oil. Fry up to 1/2 of the chicken pieces at a time for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip the chicken over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the chicken to a rack or paper towels to drain.

9. As the chicken cooks, reheat the sauce left covered on the stove. Stir occasionally.

10. When all of the chicken is done, pour it into a large bowl, and cover with the thickened sauce. Stir gently until all of the pieces are well coated.