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The savory-sweet Asian-inspired delight known as orange chicken will turn 37 years old this July. Andy Kao, the executive chef of Chinese-American fast-food giant Panda Express, invented the dish on a trip to the Hawaiian islands in 1987 when he opened the state’s first branch of the franchise.
According to NBC News, Kao’s variation on the universally beloved staple of fried chicken was inspired by the island locals’ use of citrus, as well as traditional sweet-and-spicy flavor combinations found in the Chinese city of Yang Zhou. To accommodate American palates, he used boneless, skinless, conveniently bite-sized chunks of white meat chicken and toned down the spice.
Today, orange chicken is one of the most popular menu items across a profusion of Asian-American and American restaurant chains. Here are the best places to find it right now:
Panda Express
Nutrition: (Per Serving):
Calories: 380
Fat: 18 g (Saturated Fat: 3.5 g)
Sodium: 620 mg
Carbs: 45 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 19 g)
Protein: 14 g
You can’t make a list of the best places to get orange chicken without mentioning the franchise credited with inventing and popularizing the dish. The California-born chain has more than 2,300 locations worldwide and raked in $3.8 billion in 2020—a good chunk of which can be attributed to its signature trademarked orange chicken. According to Eater, the chain sells more than 110 million pounds of orange chicken per year. The chicken is double-fried, tossed with the sauce in a wok, and finished with sesame oil for a pleasant glaze. Reddit is full of imitation recipes and fans who are on a quest for the perfect orange chicken, but if you’re craving a quick fix, nothing tastes like the original.
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