Panda Express Gone Veggie! (Gluten-free/Vegan Orange Chik'n)

Way back when, in my early years out of high school and making a name for myself at my first "real job" as a new official adult, there was this place ("in the Valley", California) that I would frequent for lunch. And every time I'd order the same thing. I think it was quite possibly their signature dish. It was probably so bad for me (deep fried and sticky sweet) but I was young and didn't care about such trivial things. Haha

This was the place: 

And this the dish: Orange Chicken (always served with a happy heaping of lo mein)

From urbanspoon.net 

The sauce is definitely what makes this dish soooo dee-liscious!

To make it, you will need:

1 tsp. of sesame oil

1 tbsp. of fresh ginger

1 tsp. finely chopped or pressed garlic

1/2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes

1/4 cup of thinly sliced green onion 

the juice of one orange and a bit of orange rind

1/4 cup of water

5 tbsp. of white vinegar

5 tbsp. of natural cane sugar

and 

1 tbsp. of cornstarch or tapioca flour

Not pictured: sesame oil

In place of the chicken you will need: 

one head of organic cauliflower rinsed and cut into small-medium sized even chunks.

To bread the cauliflower I used the same batter I used in my Buffalo Cauliflower recipe. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan with vegan margarine or your favorite neutral oil (I used coconut).  

Buttermilk Batter:

1/2 c. soy milk

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. soy sour cream 

1/2 c. gluten-free flour blend

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

(this will yield just enough batter to cover one head)

Whisk liquid ingredients together until frothy.  Set aside.

In a separate larger bowl mix dry ingredients together.  Stir in wet ingredients until fully incorporated.  Think thin pancake batter.

Douse your cauliflower pieces carefully in the batter, coating evenly but allowing excess to drip off into the bowl.  Place on cookie sheet or in baking dish.

Bake in the oven for about 15-18 minutes until coating has baked on and become a very light golden brown (especially with gluten free flour, it doesn't get as golden), but keeping an eye on them that they do not brown too quickly.  When your cauliflower appears to have formed a crust, it is done.  

Turn off the oven but leave the cauliflower in the oven to keep warm while 

you make your sauce. 

Preheat a teaspoon or two of oil in your wok or large frying pan.

When it's hot, toss in your garlic, green onion, ginger and chili pepper flakes.  Stir and cook over medium-high heat, until lightly browned and onions tender.

Carefully pour your liquid ingredients (orange juice, tamari, water and vinegar) into the pan and then your sugar. Stir until the liquid reduces just a bit and the sauce begins to thicken.  

Remove a little of the sauce (about two tablespoons) and in a separate smaller bowl, whisk the liquid with one tablespoon of cornstarch until dissolved and return to the pan.  Continue to cook for another minute.  Your sauce will thicken even more and take on the appearance of a glaze.  

Carefully roll the cauliflower pieces in the glaze until evenly coated.  

Serve up with your favorite veggie side dish. We went with a bit of broccoli with garlic sauce and a side of fresh raw crisp sugar snap peas. 

And your favorite noodle dish, should you wish,  but we stuck with the easy way and made a batch of jasmine rice.  Without the lo mein, it wasn't exactly the Panda Express experience, but with how good the orange chik'n turned out, I was way more than satisfied.  And I'll catch it next time. ;) 

Until then . . . 

      爱与光明 

(roughly translated, as always . . .)

Love and Light, 

Amber