Mandarin Chicken

This is a copycat recipe I found a long time ago on Recipezaar.com. I was actually looking for Panda Express's Orange Chicken which I found and found this recipe too. Mandarin chicken is soooo good. We've made it quite a bit. I have never grilled the chicken though. I sauté the chicken in sesame oil in my wok instead and then add the sauce. The sauce tends to be sweet, so if you don't want to use the full 2/3 cup of sugar, use ½ cup instead.

Yumminess!

40 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 8

• 2-3 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
  
• 2 or 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  
• 2/3 cup sugar (or less, according to taste) (I double this.)
  
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
  
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 8 teaspoons cornstarch
  

1. Add sesame oil to wok or large skillet and heat on high.
   
2. Add chicken to wok and reduce heat to medium-high.
   
3. While chicken is cooking in wok, combine sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, oil, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan.
   
4. Heat over medium until sugar is dissolved, stirring often.
   
5. Bring to boil.
   
6. Combine cornstarch and water.
   
7. Add to sauce pan, stirring often.
   
8. Reduce heat and simmer 4-6 minutes or until sauce thickens.
   
9. Pour sauce over the chicken and stir thoroughly to make sure all the chicken gets coated.
   
10. Reduce temperature to low and heat through until sauce is nice and thick.
    
11. Serve over white rice.