Orange chicken and The Business of Being Born

We've tried a number of new recipes since I last posted... I don't know where to start! I guess we'll start with orange chicken. I'm a huge fan of Panda Express' orange chicken, but Panda Express no longer exists anywhere near us anymore, so I thought that I would try making my own. The recipe really does get pretty close and is pretty good. It will definitely hold me over until we get to a place where Panda Expresses exist!!

As for the movie, we didn't watch this movie while we tried this recipe, but we can pretend, right? =)

The Business of Being Born - hmmm... I was really excited to see it. It's a documentary about the way that we give birth. It's produced by Ricki Lake and is very pro-natural birth and pro-midwife. The topic is one in which I'm very interested and I thought that this movie would be right up my alley. I told Adam numerous times that he really didn't have to watch it with me if he didn't want to, but he said he was game and so we watched it. I had been concerned about the graphic nature of it all, but that part was actually handled pretty tastefully. (Having said that, I still wouldn't watch the movie on a first date or anything like that...). However, I was still rather disappointed with the movie. It did a lot of handwaving when talking about specific problems in the doctor-driven birth system today and hard numbers were rarely given to support most of the statements made. I was left wondering if the picture that was presented was really accurate and I questioned some of the over-arching statements that were made. Still, it's probably worth watching if you're interested in the labor process... but I wouldn't expect to be won over by it's convincing arguments. Anyway, ratings (out of 5) follow below.

Orange Chicken
Prep Time: 40 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours 20 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.

5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ratings:
Movie - Adam **1/2, Melanie **1/2
Chicken - Adam ***1/2, Melanie ****
Note: The chicken is very orange-y. I think that next time I would reduce the orange juice and zest by half. I think doing that would make this recipe a solid **** for Adam.