Stir Fried Chicken with an Orange Sauce

Ingredients

• 1–2 pound Chicken
• 3–5 Oranges
• 1 Onion
• 2 Red Bell Peppers
• Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Honey
• Butter
• Flour

Method

Heat a large wok or high-sided frying pan over a medium-high flame until it's too hot to hold your hand above it. This is your working temperature for stir-frying — fast enough to colour the chicken without stewing it. Cut the chicken into 2–3 cm pieces, cutting against the grain where possible; this shortens the muscle fibres and keeps the meat tender during the brief cooking. Dice the onion and peppers into similar-sized chunks so they cook evenly. Add a knob of butter to the pan — about 30g — and let it foam. Once the foam subsides and the butter starts to brown slightly (this takes 60 seconds), add the onion and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the edges begin to soften and colour. The onion should stay firm at the centre; you're not caramelising it yet.

Add the chicken pieces and increase the heat slightly. The pan will cool momentarily when the cold chicken hits it — that's normal. Cook for 4–5 minutes, moving the chicken around the pan almost constantly so it browns on all sides but doesn't sit long enough to overcook the centre. You're after pale gold, not deep brown. Add the peppers and continue for another 2–3 minutes until the chicken is just cooked through — it should be opaque throughout with no pink at the thickest point.

While the chicken cooks, zest three of the oranges directly into a small bowl — use a microplane to get the coloured outer layer without the bitter white pith. Squeeze enough oranges to yield 200ml juice; this will be roughly three to four average oranges. The juice is your sauce-making base, and the zest is insurance against the acidity flattening the dish's brightness during reduction.

Pour the orange juice into the pan and add 60ml soy sauce — a 3:1 ratio, which balances the sauce's sweetness and salt. Add 30g honey and the reserved zest, then stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4–5 minutes until the liquid reduces by roughly half and tastes balanced on your tongue — sweet but not cloying, salty but not harsh. Mix 15g flour with 30ml cold water to a smooth paste and pour it into the pan while stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken noticeably within 30 seconds; if it's too thin, add another spoonful of the flour slurry. Cook for a final minute to remove any flour taste, then take off the heat. Serve immediately over steamed rice.