Orange Chicken & Snow Peas

My mom and her boyfriend used to take my brother and I out for Chinese a lot when we were kids.  I remember that mom and I would almost always share the Mu-Shu Pork.  I will never forget those little wraps stuffed with pork, mushrooms, and the Plum Sauce, ohhhh, the Plum Sauce.  As a little girl, I didn’t know what the sauce was called, and I certainly didn’t know there were mushrooms hidden in that sweet and tangy little wrap, but I loved them.  Those memories, along with my mother’s love for cooking Asian food has sealed the deal for me.  Whether it be Chinese, Thai, or Indian food, I love it all.  The depth of flavors, the textures, the sticky rice or rice noodles, and the egg rolls.  The curries, the ginger, crunch of water chestnuts, all of it is so wonderfully satisfying.

My mother had a huge electric wok that she used to make stir fry in.  I had it for a few years after she passed, but unfortunately, it got lost in one of my many moves, so nowadays, I use a wok shaped pan that works just great! 

I normally make this orange dish with boneless pork chops and edamame over rice noodles, but for some reason, I just felt like chicken and snow peas the other night, so I changed things up a bit.  I’ve been making a lot of recipes lately that include ginger, and as I minced a large grainy chunk of it to make this recipe, I decided that its aroma is definitely one of my favorite things in life.  The spicy citrus scent is intoxicating and makes my mind wander to places that are exotic and green and beachy.  I’m not sure who the first person was that saw beyond ginger’s woody exterior through to the sweet, pungent soft interior, but props to that guy!

Ingredients and Instructions

2-3 Large Boneless Chicken Breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)
½ C. Corn Starch
2 Large Eggs (beaten)
1 C. Orange Marmalade
½ C. Chicken Broth
2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp. Ginger (minced)
½ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tbsp. Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
1/4 C. Peanut Oil
2 C. Snow Peas (strings removed)
Chopped Green Onions for Garnish (optional)
Sesame Seeds for Garnish (optional)
Jasmine Rice In a small mixing bowl add marmalade, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, and soy sauce and whisk to blend.  Allow to sit for an hour or so for flavors to marry.

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large sauté pan on medium heat.  When a droplet of water sizzles in the oil, it is ready.  Drop chicken pieces first into the egg mixture and then dredge in the corn starch to coat.  In batches, fry the chicken in the peanut oil about 2 minutes and then flip and cook for 2 more minutes. Set cooked chicken aside on a plate lined with a paper towel.  Carefully dump oil from wok leaving just a few droplets of oil and return to heat.  Add snow peas to wok and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the marmalade mixture and chicken to the wok with the snow peas and heat for just a few minutes  Serve over Jasmine rice garnished with green onions and sesame seeds.