• vexikron@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Unless you go to basically a non franchise, non chain, actual asian/chinese restaurant/take out place… yeah basically if you dont do that, you are getting pretty much reconstituted chicken puree doused in… not really even real orange chicken sauce.

    As with much modern food in America… its got waaaay more sugar and is missing other vital parts of the original way of making it.

    Real orange chicken from a real chinese place tastes significantly different, and varies from place to place if they actually make the sauce on site. Usually a different medley of spices and oils… way more flavorful than extremely sweet orangeness.

    • NathanUp@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      It’s pretty easy to make at home too. I make vegan orange chicken often.

      Edit: the downvotes you get the minute you mention the “v-word” are hilarious. Some of you people are so touchy about a stranger on the internet just having a nice time and eating whatever food he wants to, god damn.

        • NathanUp@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          I usually buy the gardein nuggets as they have a really good texture for it. You can use the big TVP chunks. If you do, you should hydrate it in stock with a splash of vinegar, press the moisture out, sautee in lots of fat until a good sear develops, and then coat in breadcrumbs or corn-starch and fry.

          I’ll do tofu as well. You have to buy good tofu though, not that mealy garbage in the plastic container full of water.

          Fried cauliflower is delicious, but devoid of protein, so I never use it here as I don’t want to be hungry in an hour.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Orange chicken is not a traditional food in China. It was invented in the USA at chinese take out restaurants using locally available ingredients.

      • vexikron@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        No, it isn’t a traditional Chinese recipe, but many American Chinese restaurants have figured out a way to do an analog of it as I described, due to many Americans now expecting it as a basic staple of ‘Chinese food’.