Fake Out Take Out - Orange Chicken

As I have mentioned on my other "fake out take out" recipes, Chinese take out is my weakness.  The down side is that I don't exactly know what they are putting in my food.  I have started experimenting at home and have been quite surprised at how well these dishes are coming out. 

Orange chicken is a favorite at my house for all of us.  The thing with trying to make this healthier is that no one in my house wants to give up the crispiness of the chicken.  Well I don't have a fryer so I decided to get a bit lazy with this one and use a bag of frozen popcorn chicken.  Okay so this doesn't exactly scream homemade BUT I made the orange sauce myself and that has to count for something, right?  I mean it's the sauce that makes it! Isn't it???

I paired this with my "fake out take out" lo mein http://foodyschmoody.blogspot.com/2013/06/fake-out-take-out-lo-mein.html


I used the base sauce recipe from http://www.tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2013/05/skinny-orange-chicken.html, and only made 1 or 2 small changes.
She also has a nice healthy recipe for the chicken, but I was looking for quick so I did not follow that.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T water
2 T white sugar
2 T brown sugar
5 T white vinegar
1 tsp crushed red pepper (adjust amount to your spice level liking)
Zest of 1 orange
2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
1 T cornstarch
1/4 C water
1 bag of popcorn chicken

Instructions:

Cook chicken according to package instructions.

While chicken is cooking combine the first 8 ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water, add to boiling mixture.  Lower heat to medium low and simmer about 4-5 minutes until thickened.

When chicken is done, add to a large bowl and cover with sauce. Mix well to coat and serve.