sately

← All recipes

Meals · Stir-fries & fried rice

Paleo orange chicken

49

Crisp-edged pieces of chicken in a sticky orange glaze made from a full cup of orange juice, zest, coconut aminos, ginger and garlic, with just a tablespoon of honey. No batter and no deep fryer: a light coat of arrowroot does the work. Served over cauliflower rice with plenty of broccoli to catch the sauce.

Time
45 min (20 prep + 25 cook)
Servings
4
Per serving
528 kcal
Protein
38 g

Ingredients

To serve

Orange sauce

Steps

  1. Pat the chicken dry. Toss it in a bowl with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the 3 tablespoons of arrowroot until every piece is evenly coated, then shake off any loose starch.
  2. Heat half the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry half the chicken for 6–7 minutes, turning, until golden and crisp at the edges and 165°F inside. Lift onto a plate in one layer, add the rest of the oil and fry the second batch the same way.
  3. While the chicken fries, microwave the broccoli with the 2 tablespoons of water, covered, for 3–4 minutes until bright and crisp-tender, and drain it.
  4. Lower the heat under the chicken pan to medium and add the garlic, ginger and zest. Stir for 30 seconds, then pour in the orange juice, coconut aminos, vinegar, honey, the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the chili flakes, if using. Simmer briskly for 6–8 minutes, until reduced by about a third and slightly thickened. While it simmers, cook the cauliflower rice in a second large dry skillet with the pinch of salt over medium-high heat, stirring, for 5–6 minutes, uncovered, until hot and the steam has gone.
  5. Stir the tablespoon of arrowroot into the cold water. Pull the pan off the heat, whisk in the mixture, then return it to low heat and stir for 1–2 minutes until glossy. Take it off as soon as it thickens, because arrowroot thins again if it keeps boiling.
  6. Stir in the sesame oil off the heat, then taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt if it needs it. Toss the chicken through until coated, scatter with the green onion and sesame seeds, and serve over the cauliflower rice with the broccoli. Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge; reheat in a pan with a splash of water. The coating softens, and the sauce is just as good.

Good to know

Can I use chicken breast?

Yes, at about 57 instead of 49. Take it out as soon as it reaches 165°F, a minute or two sooner than thighs, because breast dries out faster.

Why only one tablespoon of honey?

Coconut aminos is sweeter than soy sauce and a cup of orange juice reduces to a natural syrup, so more honey only makes it cloying. Aminos is also much less salty than soy and brands differ, so if the sauce tastes flat at the end it wants a pinch of salt, not more sweetness.

Is sesame oil paleo?

A strict paleo kitchen leaves out seed oils. It is here as a single teaspoon of seasoning for aroma and not as a cooking oil, which is how most popular paleo versions of this dish use it. If you avoid it, leave it out: the dish still works and is a little less nutty.

Alternative

Per

Calories
123
Protein
(29%)
9 g
Fat
(43%)
6 g
Carbohydrates
(28%)
9 g
of which sugar
4 g
Fiber
1 g
Sodium
298 mg

More meals

Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How

As written, 2113 kcal goes into the pot and 2188 g of ingredients comes out as about 1719 g of food: 123 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.