Zesty, vibrant, and packed with flavor, Chicken in Orange Sauce is a dish that brings a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory notes. Tender chicken is gently seared, then simmered in a fragrant sauce made from fresh orange juice, zest, and aromatic spices, creating a glossy, citrus-infused glaze. The natural sweetness of the oranges enhances the juiciness of the chicken, while a hint of spice or herbs can add complexity to the dish. Best served with fluffy rice or roasted vegetables, this recipe is a delightful way to brighten up a meal, especially during the cooler months when citrus fruits are at their freshest.
Ingredients
Method
- Pat the chicken dry and season it all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in the pan over medium-high heat and brown the chicken skin side down for 6–8 minutes, until deep golden.
- Turn the chicken, brown the other side for 3 minutes and move it to a plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the fat and add the butter.
- Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, until softened.
- Add the garlic, coriander seeds, sesame, cinnamon and orange slices and fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring.
- Add the blackcurrants, honey, chilli, half the mint, the orange juice and the water.
- Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pan skin side up, with any juices from the plate.
- Cover and simmer gently for 30–35 minutes, until a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, reads at least 75°C (167°F) and the juices run clear.
- Lift the chicken onto a warm dish.
- If the sauce is thin, boil it uncovered for 3–5 minutes until it lightly coats a spoon.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks and season the sauce with salt.
- Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve with a spoonful of yogurt and the remaining mint leaves.
- Roast a bit chicken leg quarters (until half-cooked), take them out and put aside.
- Roast onion, garlic, orange, black sesame, coriander seeds in the same frying pan for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add black-current, honey, mint leaves and chili pepper, add orange juice and water.
- Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add chicken leg quarters and continue cooking for 25 minutes with a lid closed.
- Serve with matzoon and mint leaves.
What we changed for home
- Fat cut from 100 g olive oil and 100 g butter to 2 tbsp oil and 20 g butter Chicken legs release plenty of fat as they brown; 200 g of fat would leave a greasy sauce.
- 10 g cinnamon read as 2 sticks 10 g of ground cinnamon is about four teaspoons and would swamp the orange. Two sticks weigh about that much and give a gentle warmth.
- Coriander seeds given as 1 tbsp, lightly crushed 10 g is almost two tablespoons of seeds; one is plenty for four portions.
- Oranges given as 1 orange in slices plus 150 ml fresh orange juice The list has 400 g of unpeeled orange and 150 g of peeled orange, and the method fries orange and adds orange juice. Fewer slices with peel keep the long simmer from turning the sauce bitter.
- Simmering time raised from 25 to 30–35 minutes, checked with a thermometer Leg quarters browned only on the outside need about half an hour covered to cook through to the bone.
- Blackcurrants: fresh or frozen; or 150 g blackcurrant jam with the honey left out Fresh blackcurrants have a short season and are rare in many countries; frozen ones are in Eastern European shops, and jam gives the same tart fruit.
- Matzoon replaced with thick plain yogurt, 120 g instead of 25 g Matzoon is sold mainly in Armenian and Georgian shops; full-fat yogurt is close. 25 g is a teaspoon each, too little to cool the sauce.
The dish in the photograph was cooked by the restaurant for this story. Photo: Oleksandr Slyadnyev.
Screen stays on while you cook