Craving Crunchy Orange Chicken ~ Crowned with Crispy Green Onions and Toasted Almonds ~Asian Inspired

Do you ever have a craving for orange chicken...like Panda Express'?  I love their orange chicken; so when I originally found this recipe on the internet, I was excited to make it.  Though I wouldn't say this is exactly like Panda Express' orange chicken (as the original recipe suggested), this Asian-inspired chicken is sure to satisfy your craving with its crunchy tempura-like batter, true orange flavor and crispy green onion and toasted almond toppings.  With this recipe, you can enjoy orange chicken takeout at home by taking it right out of your own oven with easily accessible ingredients.

Panda Express' orange chicken does have a little more heat than I like, so I adjusted the amount of red pepper flakes from the original recipe.  Of course, if you prefer more heat, you can add more red pepper flakes, or you can just omit the red pepper flakes altogether.  Like I generally do, I made quite a few changes to the original recipes...including increasing the orange flavor with the addition of navel orange pieces.  I preferred the more obvious flavor of navel orange pieces over mandarin orange segments.

As I typically do, I've tried to eliminate any guess work and be as thorough as possible with the directions.  I often say that I write a recipe as though my daughter were standing beside me.          

                                                 It's Take Out...

                                       I Took It Out Of The Oven!