I had no idea where I was going with this the moment I grabbed my camera and started cooking. Story of my life. I just added things as I went along. I like cooking this way and still feel that some of my best dishes came to life like this.

I got the idea for this in my cherry coke & jalapeño meatball posting—where Jacques mentioned a recipe that called for Italian meatballs and orange sauce that sparked my interest.

Not the meatballs. They don’t sell frozen meatballs here and I strongly doubt I would buy them even if they were available. I’m highly suspicious of anything frozen with the word meatballs attached. Frozen meat is not all that in NL.

But I love me some citrus, so I checked out our toko downtown. Of course they didn’t carry it. That’s when I said to myself “Self: What the heck? Just cook the darn sauce yourself!‘. Eureka moment.

And am I ever glad I did!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
thumb size piece of ginger
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch dried chili flakes
2 orange slices
1 medium red onion
pepper
salt
 
Optional: Thai sweet basil

 
Directions:

Two oranges were exactly what I needed to get 2/3 cup of orange juice.

Sieve the juice.

Grate roughly 1/2 a tsp orange zest, add the OJ, honey (1 or 2 tbsp) and the chicken broth.

I threw in a tbsp mirin (Japanese cooking wine), basically because my life is meaningless without mirin.

Grate the garlic and fresh ginger and add it to the liquid.

I’ve added a few drops of tabasco, a good pinch of salt, pepper and I squeezed in some lemon juice, about 2 tbsp. It needed a bigger kick, so I sprinkled a pinch of chili flakes in there as well.

Mix the corn starch with a little water and whisk until it’s a lump-free liquid. Pour it into the orange sauce.

Pop it on the stove and bring it to a boil.

Season the chicken breasts with a royal amount of salt and pepper.

The sauce will be boiling by now. Simmer it over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.

Heat a tbsp or two oil and add a little butter for flavor. Cook the chicken over medium heat until nice and brown on all sides. Transfer the chicken to a casserole.

Slice the red onion and grab a few orange slices. Distribute the red onion over the chicken and pour the orange sauce all over.

Place half an orange slice on top of each chicken breast.

I still had some Thai sweet basil in my spice cabinet so I sprinkled a bit on top for extra flavor.

Pop the casserole in the oven and bake at 350Fº (175Cº) for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken is. Don’t mess around with undercooked chicken, so make sure your chicken has a 165°F (74Cº) core temperature.

This was fabulous. Juicy and moist chicken with a fresh and sweet citrus flavor. Loved every single bite.

 
Serving tip:

Pairs really well with Crash Hot Orange Potatoes and simple green beans or steamed broccoli. Keep it light and fresh and finish the meal with a colorful Bowl of Happiness!