Check it out—orange chicken without the deep-frying. Yes, it’s a thing—at least it is in my home. It’s my riff on the classic orange chicken recipe by flipping it to a meatball, avoiding the deep frying and taking a few liberties with the ingredients. The flavor is all there, albeit a bit spicier, but you can always leave out the Sambal sauce for a milder version.
Orange chicken is one of my little guys favorite, but I’ve never been a big fan. I don’t like the coating and most times it’s not nearly flavorful enough. Keeping those things in mind, when I worked the recipe for this orange chicken meatball: (1) I skipped the coating, since I was not deep frying. (2) I added minced ginger, Thai basil and Sambal for a pop in flavor. (3) To solve the sometimes dry texture of chicken meatballs I added in some pork for added moisture and tenderness. (4) I love working with jams, because it’s a fast and easy way to add flavor, so I made a sauce to coat the meatballs and for dipping (for those that like their meatballs drenched in sauce).
My little guy loved these. Yay, to that, because these orange chicken meatballs mean one less trip to Panda Express (I know, ewwww. But he loves it.)
Orage Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients:
For the meatballs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Sambal Olek sauce (this is a chili paste found in the Asian section of most food stores)
- 3 leaves Thai basil, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
- 3 tablespoons onion and garlic jam (I used Stonewall Kitchen)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon Sambal Olek sauce (this is a chili paste found in the Asian section of most food stores)
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