Orange Chicken

One of the Americanized dishes that seems to be served in every Chinese restaurant around.  Definitely not something you would see in real Chinese food (it's far too sweet), but having grown up eating it it has a special place in my heart.

 
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
dried peel of one orange in 3-4 large pieces
handful of dried chiles
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 C orange juice
1/2 C chicken stock
2 T chinkiang vinegar
3 T soy sauce
2 t sesame oil
1/2 t toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorn
1/4 C brown sugar
2 t corn starch mixed into 2 T water
pepper flakes/cayenne/chopped fresh Thai chiles to taste
1 t fresh grated orange zest (optional)
salt to taste
corn starch for dredging
Vegetable oil for deep frying and wok frying

Marinade:
2 egg whites
1 T soy sauce
1 T shaoxing rice wine

Beat together the marinade ingredients and add the chicken.  Set aside while you make the sauce.  In a bowl combine the orange juice, chicken stock, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn, brown sugar, orange zest, and pepper flakes.  Heat 1 or 2 T of oil in the wok over high heat, and blacken the chiles and dried orange peel; add in the garlic and briefly stir fry it until fragrant.  Before the garlic can burn, add in the bowl of sauce ingredients; bring to a simmer and allow it to reduce by about half.  Finally add in the cornstarch mixture and simmer until it thickens up.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and dredge with corn starch.  Deep fry small batches in 350 F oil until golden brown and the chicken is just done.  Toss the chicken with the sauce and serve with rice.