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Instant Pot Panda Express Orange Chicken Copycat with white rice on black plate with orange napkin and chopsticks
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4.46 from 61 votes

Instant Pot Orange Chicken (Panda Express Copycat)

Panda Express Orange Chicken copycat made in the Instant Pot. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Saute Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: copycat, orange, sticky
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 610kcal
Author: Dana

Ingredients

For Chicken

  • 2 lbs chicken breasts cut into bite size
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon oil

For the Sauce

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar dark brown
  • 1 ½ tablespoon rice wine
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce low sodium
  • 1 tablespoon ginger root
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • orange zest
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 2 teaspoon cornstarch

Slurry

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice
  • green onions garnish

Instructions

  • Combine salt, black pepper, flour, and cornstarch together in a bowl.
  • Crack the egg and pour into a bowl and stir. 
  • Dip chicken into the egg wash and then toss the chicken into the cornstarch mixture to fully coat.
  • Set Instant Pot to Saute and wait until the message reads "Hot."
  • Pour the 2 tablespoon of oil into the Instant Pot and brown chicken on all sides until skin becomes crispy (about 2 minutes).
  • Pour the sugars, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger root, garlic cloves, pepper flakes, and orange zest into the Instant Pot.
  • Pour in the 1 cup of orange juice and 2 teaspoon of cornstarch.
  • Use a spatula to remove anything sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot liner.
  • Close lid and set to Manual for 5 minutes.
  • Quick release once the 5 minutes is up.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and the 1 tablespoon of orange juice to create a slurry.
  • Pour into Instant Pot, set the Instant Pot to saute and let the orange chicken cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Stir to ensure it does not stick. 

Notes

This recipe is best to make right before you eat it -  if reheated, it loses the stickiness and the cornstarch will gum up. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 186mg | Sodium: 1377mg | Potassium: 1076mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 336IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg
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