This sweet and spicy orange sauce comes together within 15 minutes and can complement so many meals! You will love the zesty flavors coming from the fresh orange and its ability to coat the ingredients with a beautiful shiny and sticky texture. Also easy to adjust the spicy level to your taste.
Chinese food to me is the Asian version of American comfort food. All the steamy hot saucy and savory dishes, with crispy but still tender veggies. All of this on a carb loaded bed of rice or noodles. Not even to mention the deep fried doughy cabbage and noodle rolls. You now see what I mean by comfort food, right?
And one of these comfort meal is the classic Chinese orange chicken, which I never get since, well, it's chicken. Soooooo, I thought I would make my own orange sauce!
What you will need to make this sweet and spicy orange sauce:
- Fresh Navel orange
- Chili sauce
- Toasted sesame oil
- Maple syrup
- Fresh garlic
- Rice vinegar
- Corn starch
A few notes when making this recipe
- Use freshly pressed orange juice. This will make a huge difference in the taste of the sauce. You don't need any fancy equipment to do this, simply slice the orange in quarter in squeeze it with your hands!
- Choose a Navel orange. They are sweeter, larger and juicier than some other oranges, which is what you want for this sauce.
- You will need chili sauce to get the spicy kick. Try to get a sauce that keeps the chili flakes intact for added texture and look.
- Toasted sesame oil gives the sauce a deeper flavor, so try not to omit it. If you only have regular sesame oil (untoasted), use this one!
How to eat this sweet and spicy orange sauce
This sauce is more versatile than you think!
- As a base for a saucy dish: Simply roast cubes of tofu and combine them with this sauce. Or, pour the sauce over steamed veggies, like broccoli, baby bok choy or oven-baked breaded cauliflower.
- As a dipping sauce: Serve this sauce in a bowl, so people can dip sticks of roasted tofu, cauliflower wings, vegan egg rolls, asian style spring rolls or even vegan sushi!
- As a sandwich sauce: This sauce would be great for an asian style sandwich: use a roll type of bread, then add wilted but still crisp cabbage with cilantro and roasted tofu, then drizzle this sauce over. It would be a perfect way to use any leftovers.
I hope you will love this sauce as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate this recipe to let me know how it was.
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Sweet and spicy orange sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ½ cup orange juice - about 1 large orange
- 1 large clove of garlic - about 1 tsp, crushed
- 1 tsp chili sauce or sambal oelek
- ¼ cup rice vinegar -
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine the corn starch and the water in a medium bowl. Mix well with a fork.
- In a small sauce pan, add the rest of the ingredients and warm on medium-high heat whisking frequently until you reach a gentle boil (about 3 minutes).
- Then, add the corn starch mixture to the pot (you will need to mix very well the cornstarch mixture before transferring) and whisk well for about 30-60 seconds, still at medium-high heat, until the sauce thickens.
- Let the sauce cool down in the fridge for about 20 minutes before eating, if possible. I find the flavors to be deeper after resting in the fridge for a little bit. The sauce will stay good in the fridge for 4 days. Serve with brown rice, roasted tofu and veggies.
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Ça fait déjà plusieurs fois que je la fait !
Délicieuse. À faire et refaire
Je suis contente que tu l'aimes! 🙂 Merci pour le commentaire!
Yummy! I left out the oil because we are trying to be oil-free and it was still delicious. Used it for as stir fry sauce and my guests wanted the recipe.
Thanks!!
Oh that's great Denice! Thanks for your comment 🙂