Last night, our kitchen magically morphed into healthy Panda Express:
I remember the exact day Panda Express showed up at our local shopping mall. I was in 7th grade—the age where girls ditch their parents, get glammed up in more makeup than kabuki performers, and hang out at the mall every single weekend, feeling incredibly cool and grown up.
After Panda Express moved in, you suddenly couldn’t set foot in the building without being hit by the addictive aroma of their orange sesame sauce. It called to us as we perused the displays of glitter eyeliner at Sephora. (Why did I ever think sparkly neon green eyeliner was a good look for me?) It beckoned to us while we debated the pink pleather pants from Wet Seal. (Sadly, I did end up buying a pair.) And then, as we purchased our much-too-short shorts at Abercrombie and Fitch, the orange sesame aroma practically screamed to us. (Perhaps it was simply trying to be heard over A&F’s ridiculously-loud music.)
Finally, we’d give in to temptation, devouring every sweet orange bite.
Last night we thought it’d be fun to make a Panda-inspired dinner, complete with chopsticks and Chinese takeout containers from Michaels. At first I thought to make tofu. But… cauliflower just seemed way more fun! For the cauliflower, I used: this cauliflower recipe.
(If you’d prefer, you can make “popcorn cauliflower” by combining 1/2 cup any type of flour with 1/2 cup water, dipping cauliflower florets into this mixture, baking 20 minutes at 425F, then pouring the sauce on top and baking another few minutes.)
To recreate Panda Express’s “secret” sauce, I first looked at the ingredients in their bottled sauce and many copycat recipes online. Then I gathered some basic ingredients common in all of the recipes (vinegar, garlic, ginger…) and played around with the proportions until the sauce tasted just as good as better than the one from Panda Express. What follows is some really, really good sauce.
You’ll want to put it on everything!
Healthy Panda Express Orange Sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth (120g)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot (30g)
- 3-4 tbsp orange marmalade (45-60g)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic (30g)
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp rice vinegar (45g)
- 2 stevia packets, or 2 tbsp sugar (Liquid sweetener will work; just use a bit more cornstarch for thickening.)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or gf tamari (30g)
- optional: 1 tsp sesame oil
- optional: green onions for garnish, crushed red chilis for a spicy variation
Whisk broth and cornstarch or arrowroot until dissolved. Now turn on the heat to low-medium and add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it’s thickened, remove from heat. Makes 300g (about 1 1/4 cup). Serve over whatever you wish: rice, veggies, soba, tofu, etc. As noted above, here are the directions if you wish to make chicken-style cauliflower (it works with tofu as well): combine 1/2 cup any type of flour with 1/2 cup water, dip florets of one head cauliflower into this mixture, bake 20 minutes at 425F, then pour the sauce on top and bake another few minutes.
View Orange Sauce Nutrition Facts
LINK OF THE DAY:
Thank you so much for posting this! I had orange chicken every day when I was in Texas a few years ago and have been missing it so much since I became a vegan (good thing we don’t have Panda Express in Norway). I tried to make a version with tofu, but it just didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. The sauce was too watery and I forgot to coat the tofu. But now. NOW. My dreams have been answered. Again, thank you so much for posting fantastic recipes and just being your awesome self. I love the way you write. So much charm and personality.
Thanks…my family loves chinese but the youngest has egg and nut allergy so chinese resturants are out. For those that are not vegan…could you use the flour coating for the cauliflower on chicken? My kids eat pretty healthy but subbing cauliflower might be a big shock to them 🙂 I can’t seem to find a chicken coating without egg. Thank you for this site by the way…it is wonderful. I love how you have single serving and small quantity recipes.
May I suggest using the Indian style of “breading” – they mix chickpea flour, rice flour (with some turmeric powder added in, can always change to a more chinese flavored herb), with some water. It’s really sticky, no need for egg. But I don’t know how well it would bake, I always fry it. Could try, though. If you like that, I can share the recipe for the breading dip.
I’d love the recipe!
I started typing the recipe, then I remembered it’s on Google Books – here’s the link that goes directly to the right page. Scroll down to the “For the Batter” part:
http://books.google.com/books?id=gSDGfQygJ6AC&lpg=PP1&ots=WqdiQPkild&dq=raghavan%20iyer&pg=PA44#v=onepage&q=raghavan%20iyer&f=false
Note the part of instructions that say to GRADUALLY add water until the texture is right. One time I forgot and dumped all the water in, it was too watery. Still tasted great, the breading was just a little thin.
Enjoy!
Cool…thanks!
Oh my goodness… I used to love going to Panda Express too. Thank you so much for a healthy copycat version. I’m making this tonight!
Thank you!!!! I actually have a bottle of their Orange sauce & I love it, but rarely eat it because I know it isn’t good for me. This sounds just as tasty while being much healthier!
I usually prefer Thai over Chinese food but this sauce sounds really good!
I love when you post savory recipes! Your chili and stroganoff are staples in our home, and this one will surely have to be made this week. I used to LOVE Panda Express before going vegetarian!
This looks great! I use a similar recipe, combining orange juice, corn starch, and honey (I don’t really use measurements). It’s not completely vegan but I’m sure a bit of agave would act similarly!
sweet! panda express was my all time favorite. maybe some honey walnut shrimp makeover now? 😉
I love your website and all of your recipes by the way, it is my goal to one day try to make every single one! haha
Thank you so much for sharing this…it looks superyumful and I can think of oodles of uses for it. Burgers and tofu and maybe savory pancake toppings I think. 🙂
My favorite Chinese food as a kid was always eggrolls…their crispy-crunchy-slightly greasy exteriors bursting with steamy flavorful fillings with every bite. And dipped in sauces, sometimes sweet and sometimes way too hot but always an adventure! I’ve yet to try a vegan “egg”roll that didn’t make me smile…still love ’em!
General Tso’s chicken- HANDS DOWN. Whenever we get it… well, hello midnight raids!
Not anymore thank goodness. Does anyone else feel weird when ordering it… like saying the name? No? No one?
Darn.