Festive Clementine Chicken Recipe

If turkey isn’t on the menu this Christmas, why not try our simple recipe for festive clementine chicken? Packed with delicious flavours and far less fuss than your usual Christmas fair, the whole family is sure to love this tasty dish. This is also a brilliant meal to make in that period between Christmas Day and New Years; after you have grown tired of the turkey leftovers and are looking for something a little more flavourful!If you want to stock up on ingredients in preparation for Christmas, our online Chinese supermarket has got everything you need and more! Browse our range now to find authentic ingredients and snacks from across southeast Asia.

Oranges at Christmas

The festive period is full of delicious flavours and aromas, with oranges being a classic infusion for various seasonal foods in the UK. Because orange is often incorporated into Christmas cake and plays a part in traditions like Christingle and putting oranges in Christmas stockings, the flavour is strongly associated with the season for many. The sharpness and sweetness of the citrus fruit combine deliciously with both sweet and savoury flavours, making it a natural choice for Chinese sweet and sour inspired meals.

The History of Orange Chicken

There are countless traditional Chinese dishes that incorporate chicken, but orange chicken as we know it from Chinese takeaways in the west is rarely found in China and is by no means an authentic dish. Orange chicken is considered a variation of General Tso’s chicken; while both of these dishes have roots in a Chinese culinary tradition and are inspired by authentic flavours, many consider them to be Americanised versions of classic Chinese sweet and sour dishes. Despite its less than authentic origins, orange chicken is a delicious treat and straightforward to make at home. Discover how to make our version of orange chicken with a festive clementine twist.

Clementine Chicken Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 70g plain flour
• 75g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp unrefined golden caster sugar
• 140ml water
• 1 tsp sesame oil

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• Zest and juice of 10 clementines (or satsumas!)
• 110g caster sugar
• 3 slices ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp red chilli flakes
• 2 bunch spring onions, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
• 120ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp cornflour

For the rice:

• 750g long grain rice, cooked and cooled
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Handful of frozen peas

How to Make Clementine Chicken

1. Sift the dry ingredients for the chicken into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the water and sesame oil. Gradually add the liquid into the dry ingredients, whisking as you go, until a smooth batter is produced.
2. Heat a pan of oil to 180°C. Dip the chicken pieces into the batter, and then drop them straight onto the hot oil. Let them sizzle for 5 minutes, until they are cooked through and golden. Set cooked pieces on a paper towel to drain while you cook the rest of the chicken.
3. Once the chicken has been fried, put it all on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 160°C for 15 minutes.
4. For the clementine sauce, combine the soy sauce, clementine juice, zest and sugar in a bowl. In a wok, lightly fry the ginger, garlic, chilli and spring onions in oil. Add the rice wine and the clementine mixture. Whisk in the cornflour until the sauce is smooth and starts to thicken. Simmer for a few minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
5. For the rice, start by frying the spring onions before adding in the cooked rice and peas. Add the egg, stirring gently as you would for scrambled egg. Season with soy sauce.
6. Serve the rice with the crispy chicken and pour over the scrumptious clementine sauce. Enjoy!

If you’ve caught the cooking bug, be sure to try our other recipes inspired by dishes from countries including China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and more!You might like to try our recipe for chicken lo mein.