This Orange Ginger Chicken recipe takes a whole chicken and some oranges and with a few simple steps transforms it into a lovely roast dinner, complete with the most flavorful sauce. With sweetness from oranges, a kick from ginger, and a salty tang from dark soy sauce this is a perfect dinner any night of the week - and sure to become a new staple in your house.
Make the marinade by mixing together soy sauce, ginger powder, black pepper and the juice from one of the oranges in a bowl large enough to fit the whole chicken.
3 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 orange, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Place the chicken in the bowl and turn it so it gets entirely covered in the marinade. Set aside for now.
1 whole chicken
Bring out a roasting pan. Cut the butter in pieces and place in the bottom of the pan. Cut the onions and the two remaining oranges in 8 pieces each and place most of them in the pan on top of the butter. Save some for stuffing inside the chicken.
2 oranges, ¼ cup butter, 2 yellow onions
Stuff the chicken with the remaining pieces of onion and orange and place on top of the butter, onion and orange in the pan. Pour over the remaining marinade.
Stick an oven thermometer in the chicken, close to the bone. Roast at 390°F (200°C) for 50-60 minutes, until the inner temperature of the chicken close to the bone is 165°F (74°C). Baste once every 10 minutes while cooking for best results.
Once the chicken is done, bring it out of the oven and transfer chicken to serving plate. Cover with aluminium foil to keep it warm.
To make the sauce, place a strainer over a sauce pan. Pour the sauce from the roasting pan into the strainer together with the onions and oranges from beneath the chicken. Smash them a bit to allow for more juice to be released. Then remove the strainer and place the sauce pan over medium-high heat. Once it starts to boil, add in the milk and bring back to a simmer. Mix the corn starch with the cold water and add to the sauce. Let simmer for about a minute while stirring, until the sauce has reached desired consistency
½ cup milk, 1 tablespoon corn starch, ¼ cup cold water
Serve the chicken with rice and the sauce.
4 servings cooked white rice
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes & substitutions
Corn starch can be swapped for instant roux mix (in which case you just follow the instructions on the box, and can usually skip the cold water)
Milk can be swapped for cream or half and half
Oranges: one of them will be juiced, and you can use orange juice instead of this one (but fresh oranges are always the best). If using orange juice, swap one orange for 5 tablespoons of juice and try to find one without added sugar.
Yellow onions can be swapped for red onions or shallots
Tips & tricks
Make your own orange juice for the marinade - it adds so much more flavor than using the storebought kind
Baste the chicken every 10 minutes or so, to ensure it doesn't dry out and to help create that deliciously crispy skin
Cooking time will vary depending on your oven and the size of the chicken
Use a kitchen thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked through, but not dry
Store leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 4 days
Freeze leftovers to keep them for up to 3 months - I recommend freezing it without rice, but you can freeze with rice as well
What if I don't have a kitchen thermometer?
If you don't have a kitchen thermometer you'll need to cut into the chicken to check it. The general rule is that if you cut the chicken and the liquid coming out is clear, then the chicken is done.With a whole chicken I do however recommend to double check that it is actually cooked through to the bone - do this by slicing all the way through the thigh and/or filet and make sure the meat is white all the way.Nutritional information refers to just chicken and sauce, without rice.