Panda Inn Orange Chicken Copycat

Panda Inn Orange Chicken Duck style
Before there was Panda Express, there was the Panda Inn restaurants (1973), located in Glendale and Pasadena California.  The original restaurants that spawned the Panda Express that so many people love today.  The restaurant used the best ingredients and spared no cost to bring its patrons the most amazing American style Mandarin food you could imagine.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN:
4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¼ inch pieces
6 eggs
Canola oil for frying and coating
2 cups cornstarch
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

FOR THE SAUCE:
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons rice wine (or vodka)
½ cup water
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup sugar
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 cup white vinegar
zest of 2 oranges

FOR THE FINAL COATING:
3 tablespoons minced ginger root
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers
20 Chinese red dried chili peppers
1 15-ounce can of baby corn drained

FOR THE TOPPING
2 bunches of chopped green onions
Sesame seeds
Instructions

To make the sauce
Combine:
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons rice wine (or vodka)
½ cup water
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup sugar
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 cup white vinegar
zest of 2 oranges

Chicken Preparation
Cut 4 pounds of boneless chicken breast into ¼ inch pieces
Mince 3 tablespoons of ginger root
Mince 4 teaspoons of garlic
chop 2 bunches of green onions

Prepare the wet and dry mix
In a large bowl whisk together:
6 eggs
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil

In a separate bowl, add
2 cups cornstarch
1 cup flour

Fry Time
In a large frying pan, heat oil to 375 degrees.
Dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then dredge in the flour mixture.
Fry the chicken for 5 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Transfer to a cooling rack and repeat with remaining chicken.

When you are done with the chicken, drain most of the oil from the pan leaving just a little.

Add:
3 tablespoons ginger root minced
4 teaspoons garlic minced
1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers
20 Chinese red chilis
1 15-ounce can of baby corn drained
Cook for about 10 seconds.

Add the orange sauce and bring to boil.

Turn off the heat
Add the chicken back in and stir until well mixed.

Top with green onions and sesame seeds before serving

Panda Inn Orange Chicken

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It was always a first class dining experience to visit the Panda Inn.  The The fast food version is good, but compared to the original, you can easily see and where they cut corners to put out a low cost fast food meal.   I believe the Pasadena restaurant is still in business but I have not been for over thirty years so I cant tell you what the experience is like today. This week we did our best to make the Orange Chicken served at the Panda Inn. The biggest difference from the fast food version is the chicken itself.  We used the highest quality white meat chicken instead of dark meat.  The cut is also smaller, the sauce spicier with a few more ingredients and the chicken is crunchier than the fast food version.  We usually post a new recipe on DuckinaPot.com every week. Please share this this week’s the Original Panda Inn Orange Chicken with Baby Corn recipe with your friends and come back often. The Ducks thank you for browsing our site.