This Delicious Copycat Orange Chicken Recipe Will Save You a Trip to P.F. Chang’s

You know what we love? P.F. Chang’s. You know what we hate? Getting there. There are few things more annoying than getting cravings for the restaurant’s orange chicken, and knowing that you’re going to have to get in your car and make the journey to pick it up. Okay, there are a lot of things more annoying than that, but this is a food website, so these things hit us deep.

But you know what? Making a copycat orange chicken is way, way simpler than you likely think. All it takes is some ingredients that you probably have lying around and a little bit of time. Trust us: You’ll be richly rewarded.

P.F. Chang’s Orange Chicken Sauce

To make P.F. Chang’s Orange Chicken Sauce, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch, mixed with some water to make a slurry
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (you can use low-sodium soy if you want to keep things less salty)
• The peel of one large orange, sliced into thin strips
• Optional extras: minced garlic, ground ginger, orange juice

To be honest, finding all of the ingredients in your pantry is the hardest part of this recipe, as putting it together is a breeze. Simply take the tomato sauce, water, sugar, sriracha, and soy, and combine them in a pot. Bring them to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes before adding the cornstarch slurry a spoonful at a time, to thicken it to your desired consistency. Finally, add the orange peel, stirring it through to infuse its flavor.

Take it off the heat, and give it a taste-test. If you want a bit more of an orange note, you can add in some of the orange juice; if you prefer a bit more spice, you can throw in some garlic or ginger. Want to keep it authentic to P.F. Chang’s? Skip them all and keep things simple with the base recipe. 

It’s All About The Chicken

Now, the fun part: What are you gonna combine it with? You can make your own imitation P.F. Chang’s chicken at home, by coating chicken pieces in cornstarch and deep-frying them—but honestly, we’re all about making life easy for yourself here. So, air-fry some of our favorite frozen popcorn chicken or the best frozen chicken nuggets, and stir them through the sauce before heaping it all onto a bowl of white rice. 

You can also use frozen fried shrimp if you prefer, either the popcorn kind or the panko-crusted type; with the latter, the sauce is perfect for dipping. Oh, and don’t forget to whip up a batch of frozen egg rolls to have on the side. Man. We’re hungry.