Paleo Orange Chicken
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- For the Orange Sauce:
- zest of 1 navel orange about 2 tsp
- juice of 1 navel orange about 1/2 cup
- 2 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 2 cloves of garlic minced I use a press
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
- ½ cup chicken broth divided
- 3 Tbs cup coconut aminos
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp sriracha sauce more if you like it spicy
- 1 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp real maple syrup optional
- 1 tsp tapioca flour
- ¼ cup chopped scallions
- 1 Tbs sesame seeds
- For the Oven Fried Chicken:
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs- cut into bite size pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbs coconut oil melted plus enough to grease pans.
- 3 Tbs tapioca flour
- I recommend using organic ingredients when possible.
Instructions
- Begin with the Chinese Orange Sauce:
- Heat the 1 Tbs of coconut oil over a medium burner. Add the orange zest, grated ginger, and minced garlic to the pan and stir until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the orange juice, ¼ cup of chicken broth, coconut aminos, fish sauce, sriracha sauce, white balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, and maple syrup to the pan, and stir.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of chicken broth and 1 tsp of tapioca flour. Add the slurry to the orange sauce and whisk.
- Simmer stirring for about 3 minutes. Take the sauce off the heat and rest for 10 minutes; the sauce will thicken as it cools.
- For the Oven “Fried” chicken:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with foil and grease them with coconut oil.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a bowl, toss the chicken pieces to coat with the two tablespoons of melted coconut oil.
- Working in three separate batches, add 1 Tbs of tapioca flour and 1/3 of the oiled chicken pieces to a Ziploc bag. Seal the bag, leaving some air inside so the chicken has room to move, and shake the bag well. The chicken will have a light coating of tapioca flour.
- Toss the remaining two batches of chicken with the remaining two tablespoons of tapioca flour. (Be sure to divide the three tablespoons of tapioca flour among the three batches of chicken. If you add all of the tapioca at once, the chicken will grab all of the tapioca flour in the first batch.
- Evenly disperse the chicken pieces onto the two baking sheets. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 8 minutes, flip chicken pieces, and bake for 4 more minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from the oven and let it rest for at least 3 minutes.
- While chicken is resting, reheat the orange sauce. Toss the chicken in the orange sauce and serve over cauliflower rice. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.