Hi, this is Amanda.
And on this episode of EATKINDLY With Me,
we're going to be making orange chicken
from a secret ingredient.
Soy curls.
So what are soy curls?
I actually learned about this very, very recently.
I just found it on Google.
But they are basically whole soybeans, non-GMO.
That have been very minimally processed
and they have been packaged
without additives or preservatives.
They are super healthy for you.
Very high in protein.
I mean just three quarters of a cup
gives you 11 grams of protein.
So I think it's an amazing chicken substitute.
And when baked at a high temperature, or air fried,
they taste so amazing.
So this is gonna be our chicken substitute for today.
So with all that being said, let's get started.
So I'm gonna add in two cups of soy curls.
And then go ahead and add in your hot water.
You want just enough to cover up everything.
Sometimes I like to add this to help push down
the soy curls.
And this is going to sit for 10 minutes.
So now that it's been 10 minutes,
I'm going to drain out the water from these soy curls.
Just to show you guys how it looks
now that it's all been soaked.
It's super squishy.
There's a lot of water in it.
And it quite literally feels like boiled chicken.
Super, super weird.
And cool at the same time.
So, let me go ahead and drain this out.
And then try your best to squeeze out some water
from the soy curls.
It will be very hot.
So, do this carefully.
You can also use a large utensil like this
to help push it out.
If you don't feel like buying soy curls,
you can also definitely make this with tofu.
Add some oil, a little bit of corn starch,
and then throw that in your oven or air fryer as well.
I just feel like it's so cool
to use a new ingredient like this, so might as well.
So I'm going to transfer these soy curls back into the bowl.
We're going to sprinkle on two tablespoons of corn starch.
And this is going to help give us a super great texture
on the soy curls.
And then I'll go through and toss,
so that it's evenly coated.
You could also use tapioca starch
if that's what you have on hand.
But I have corn starch, so that's what I'm gonna use.
Alright, now that this is all evenly coated.
I'm going to bust out my air fryer.
Again, if you have an oven,
that works perfectly fine as well.
But I'm gonna use my air fryer
because I'm obsessed with it.
Alright, so we are going to be baking this
at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
So I'm gonna go ahead and add everything in here.
And also I would say to spread this out
as evenly as possible.
I mean, you can see there are a lot of soy curls,
so some are going to overlap, but that's okay.
I'm just gonna pop this in.
375.
And we're gonna start with 10 minutes.
There we go.
Wow.
Take a look at this.
It looks like fried chicken.
Wow.
I think 10 minutes is the perfect amount.
It feels crispy,
but it's still soft, like it's moist inside.
You know, it'll have a good chew.
So I'm just going to leave this on the side for now.
And in the meantime,
we can go ahead and get started on our sauce.
Okay, so to a sauce pan,
start off by adding one cup of orange juice.
This is pulp free by Simply Organic,
or actually no, by Simply Orange.
Next, we're going to be adding half a cup of raw sugar
or regular sugar if that's what you have on hand.
So I would say add in a true half cup,
if you like your orange chicken to taste pretty classic,
very sweet.
If you want yours to be a little less sweet,
and maybe more on the savory side,
I would add a little bit less than half a cup.
To keep it a little classic,
I'm pretty much doing a true half cup.
Time to add some umami, or some savoriness to this.
So first off, we're going to be starting off
with some organic tamari.
So this is pretty much like soy sauce.
You can switch them out.
I would say this has a thicker consistency to soy sauce,
just a little bit, and it's a bit less salty.
But you can use soy sauce too.
So in here, we're going to add two tablespoons.
And we're going to be adding
two tablespoons of rice vinegar.
To add some kick, a little bit of spice.
I'm also going to throw in half a teaspoon
of red pepper flakes.
But this is definitely up to you.
If you prefer your orange chicken not to be a little spicy,
then you could definitely skip this ingredient.
And then we are going to be adding in about half a teaspoon
of grated ginger.
I already did this beforehand.
If you guys have not used ginger before,
it looked like this,
I peeled the outside and then I just grated it
using a zester.
That's why it looks very minced like this.
I will be adding in two garlic cloves.
So I'm gonna turn on the heat,
and we're gonna cook this for about three minutes.
In the meantime,
we're also going to whip up this corn starch concoction,
and that's gonna help thicken up our sauce too.
And that's when I'm gonna add in orange zest as well.
So to a small bowl,
go ahead and add in one tablespoon of corn starch,
and two tablespoons of water.
And then go ahead and whisk that together.
We're not gonna add this in
until our sauce starts boiling a bit, and it starts cooking.
Just wait a few minutes and then we can add this in.
So now that it's been about three minutes,
I'm gonna go ahead and add in our cornstarch water mixture.
So go ahead and dump that in.
And then we're gonna cook this
for another three to five minutes,
or until your mixture begins to thicken.
You'll slowly see that it'll become that thick,
sticky sauce, that orange chicken is known for having.
Now that our sauce is ready.
I'm gonna throw in all of our orange zest.
Again, this came from one whole orange.
So it is a lot.
There we go.
Give it one good stir.
Okay.
Now our sauce looks ready.
It has gotten this like thick, kind of like,
nectar like consistency.
And I'm gonna combine this all in one large bowl.
So, in goes our soy curls.
And then pour over your delicious homemade orange sauce.
(gentle music)
And then combine very well.
Okay, and it's literally that easy.
Here we have our vegan orange chicken.
So now all that's left is to plate.
So, let me clean up and then we can get started.
Alright, so it's time to plate.
So I actually steamed some rice.
I love a lot of rice.
So I'm gonna add a good amount.
Your girl does not hold back.
And then we're gonna go ahead
and add in our vegan orange chicken,
which looks absolutely yummy.
Wow!
Mm-hm, Look at that.
I'm also going to top it off with some green onions.
I think it adds such a beautiful flavor.
It adds a nice color to the dish.
And then also some sesame seeds are super essential.
So I like to add this all over the orange chicken.
And here we go, you guys.
Vegan orange chicken made from soy curls.
Absolutely delicious.
And it looks like the real thing.
Alright, here we go you guys, the finished product.
It looks absolutely beautiful,
and I'm very excited to dive in.
So let's give it a bite.
Oh my gosh.
This tastes so amazing.
Literally better than Panda Express,
but maybe I'm just biased since I just made this myself.
(gentle music)
This is absolutely amazing.
And if you grew up eating Panda Express orange chicken,
just like myself,
you've got to try this
and get some nostalgia back in your life.
Well, this is Amanda for LIVEKINDLY.
Thank you so much for watching.
Have you cooked with soy curls before?
What did you make?
Let me know down below in the comments.
Also, remember to subscribe and hit that notification bell.
See you again next time.