Sticky orange chicken

We love this dish. Relatively simple to make and extremely tasty when the chicken and oranges are good quality, which means that the best time to make this is sometime in the winter when oranges fall from the trees like leaves. I use thighs or breasts or a mix of both, depending on my local farmers' availability or my mood.

Ingredients

600 g de-boned chicken thighs, cut into 1.5 cm pieces

batter:
1 medium egg
90 g corn flour
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
30 ml grapeseed or peanut oil
120 ml of cold water

sauce:
180 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 zest of an organic orange, finely grated
1 orange, cut the same size as the chicken 
2 tbsp medium dark barley miso paste
60 g (or more to taste) date syrup*
30 g peeled garlic, crushed through a garlic press
20 g peeled fresh ginger, grated
60 ml tamari soy sauce
3-4 Sichuan peppers if you like, or chili**
1 tbsp corn flour

Prepare

Mix all of the coating ingredients to a thin batter consistency. Mix in the chicken and leave for 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix all of the sauce ingredients.

Heat oil in a pan until it is very hot and add chicken pieces. Do not overcrowd the pan, and make the chicken in 3 or 4 batches, depending on the size of your pan. Fry 2 – 3 minutes on one side and then on the other (or until ready). When done, remove and put on a plate layered with a paper towel. 

* I love the depth of the date syrup, but you can use honey or Demerara sugar instead.
** You can also sprinkle some chili while serving, especially if you make this for your family and the kids don't like spicy food. 

Recipe and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s