Cara Cara Orange Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Take your classic orange chicken stir fry and swap it for a more delicious and healthier cara cara orange ginger chicken stir fry! This meal comes together quickly and delivers on every flavor note.

Watch how to make this

Ingredients

• Chicken breast: Although this recipe calls for chicken breast, you can also use chicken thigh.
• Cornstarch: The thickening agent helps to tenderize the chicken and thickens the sauce once the chicken is cooked.
• Cara Cara oranges: These oranges are known for their sweet and slightly tangy flavor. The taste is often described as a complex combination of cherry, rose, orange, and blackberry. They have a distinctive pink to red flesh, setting them apart from the typical orange color of other navel oranges.
• Rice wine: This stirfry calls for clear rice wine, not to be confused with Shaoxing wine.

Substitutions and variations

• Protein: Other options include flank steak, shrimp, scallops, tofu, or pork loin.
• Gluten-free: Substitute soy sauce with gluten-free tamari.
• Vegetables: You can use any combination of vegetables other than the snap peas and bell peppers the recipe calls for. Some examples include zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, and mushrooms.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Marinate chicken

This stir-fry dish comes together quickly so it's important to prepare all ingredients before cooking. Let's first start by preparing the chicken.

Marinate chicken breast or boneless skinless thighs with cornstarch, ginger, garlic, turmeric, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and sit for 10 minutes. Cornstarch is important for two reasons. First, it will tenderize the meat. Second, it will help thicken the sauce.

Ten minutes doesn't seem like a long time but you don't need long to let the cornstarch have its effect.

Step 2: Make the sauce

Meanwhile, let's prepare the sauce. If you never had a Cara Cara orange before, I highly recommend you try them. Imagine if a strawberry and orange had a baby and that's what you get with Cara Cara oranges. They have beautiful pink flesh, are incredibly juicy, and when in season, are very sweet.

We're going to pair these wonderful oranges with Asian staple ingredients including soy sauce, rice wine, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chili flakes to create a sauce for the stir fry. Don't forget to add both the juice and zest to the sauce for maximum orange flavor.

Step 3: Cook chicken and vegetables

Heat oil in a large saute pan or wok and cook the chicken until golden brown. Don't worry if the inside isn't fully cooked since we're going to cook it again with the sauce.

Remove the chicken and set it aside. In the same pan, saute the vegetables until tender. You can swap out the snap peas and bell peppers for whatever is in season. Broccoli, bok choy, kale, and zucchini work wonderfully in this Cara Cara orange ginger chicken stir fry.

Add the sauce to the pan with the chicken and simmer for another minute or until thickened. Give the stir fry a taste and give it a final seasoning.

Transfer the stir fry to a plate and garnish with scallions, sesame seeds, and fresh chopped cilantro. Serve the Cara Cara orange ginger chicken stir fry with rice for a complete meal.

Although this recipe doesn't stray too far from the original orange chicken stir fry, the flavors differ from the classic. Not overly sweet with a slightly peppery taste from the ginger, this dish is easy to make, and dare I say, better than takeout!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can marinate the chicken up to 1 hour in advance and make the stir-fry sauce the day before.
• Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe

Print Recipe

Cara Cara Orange Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: chicken

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Chicken marinade

• 1 pound chicken breast cut into bite-size chunks
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil

Stir-fry sauce

• 1 teaspoon cara cara orange zest
• ½ cup cara cara orange juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons rice wine
• 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes

Remaining ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil divided
• 1 cup snap peas
• ½ red bell pepper chopped
• ½ green bell pepper chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon minced ginger
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 scallions chopped

Instructions

• Toss the chicken with cornstarch, ground ginger, turmeric, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil. Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Combine the zest of 1 cara cara orange with ½ cup orange juice, honey, rice wine, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and red chili flakes. Set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
• In the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add the snap peas, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and ginger and saute for another minute.
• Add back the chicken to the pan along with the sauce. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for another minute, stirring to coat everything in the sauce. Season the stir fry with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the dish to a plate and garnish with sesame seeds, chopped scallions, and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

Notes

If cara cara oranges aren't available, you can substitute them with navel oranges or Valencia oranges.