Vegan Orange Chicken Recipe (soy curls) (2024)

• 4 oz soy curls 2 packed cups
• 2 Tablespoons tapioca arrowroot or cornstarch

Orange Sauce

• 1 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
• 6 Tablespoons tamari
• 5 Tablespoons maple syrup or sugar (replace with date paste for Plantricious compliance)
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar (+ more to taste)
• 1 inch ginger root (peelt + grated)
• 2-3 cloves garlic grated
• zest from 1 orange
• 1 pinch red chili flakes optional to taste

US Customary - Metric

• Preheat your air fryer or oven to 375 “F.

• Soak the soy curls in hot water for 20 minutes then use your hands to squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can. (Feel free to break them into smaller bite size pieces if desired).

• Transfer to a mixing bowl and sprinkle with the tapioca (or cornstarch). Toss to coat well.

• Place your soy curls in the air fryer basket making sure to shake off any tapioca excess. (If using the oven method place on a parchment lined baking sheet preferably without touching each other).

• Air fry for 13 to 15 minutes until just crips around the edges.

  

Make the Orange Sauce

• Combine all of the sauce ingredients and add the sauce to a medium size skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 seconds or so to tame the garlic.

• Add the air fried ( or baked) soy curls and toss everything until nicely coated all over. Cook an additional minute until the sauce thickens a bit and glazes the soy curls to your liking.

• Serve over rice and sautéed bok choy garnished with sesame seeds, scallions or cilantro.

• To make this sauce Plantricious compliant make sure to sweeten it with date paste + water instead of sugar or maple syrup.

  

• The recipe makes enough sauce to coat twice the amount of soy curls in my honest opinion. However, many people prefer extra sauce on the side when serving their orange “ chick’n with rice so you’ll have to decide for yourself what you prefer.
• The bok choy in the photos is simply sautéed in a splash of water and tamari sauce until wilted. You can dress it with a drizzle of sesame oil if desired.
• You can rehydrate the soy curls and mix the sauce in advance. It is recommended you cook them just before eating for the best texture, that being said they still make really great leftovers.
• Resist the temptation to add any thickener / slurry to the sauce. The light dusting of tapioca on the soy curls will thicken it perfectly, i promise! Only if you plan to use this sauce on its own or in another recipe would you want to add cornstarch, tapioca or agar agar to thicken it.
• Depending on the type of sweetener used (maple syrup, date paste, coconut nectar or sugar, white or brown sugar), your sauce might be lighter or darker in color.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: plant based, soy curls, vegan chicken, vegan orange chicken, wfpb

Author: Florentina