Orange Chicken & Broccoli Recipe (with Video)

1. Option for how to steam broccoli: Fill a pot with about 1 inch of water. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring the water to a boil. Place broccoli florets in a steamer basket and lightly season with salt. Set the steamer basket inside of the pot of boiling water and cover. Cook broccoli for about 5-7 minutes or until it is tender. Time will vary depending on the size of the broccoli florets.
2. Clean, trim excess fat, and pat dry chicken thighs. Next, slice chicken into 1-inch chunks.
3. Add chicken to a bowl and coat with olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Mix around well to ensure all pieces of chicken are coated. Then, set aside.
4. For sauce, in a separate bowl, combine and mix orange juice, white vinegar, soy sauce, white sugar, brown sugar, sesame oil, and orange zest.
5. In a skillet on medium-high heat, once the skillet is brought to temperature, add in olive oil. When oil is hot, add in chicken. Cook chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until seared crust forms and is cooked evenly through. Then, set chicken aside.
6. For sauce, in the same skillet that we used to cook the chicken, keep the remnant oil in the skillet. Add in minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, & ginger. Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then, pour in sauce ingredients. Heat the skillet on medium-high and continuously stir for a few minutes to combine all of the ingredients and to bring the sauce to a simmer.
7. For cornstarch slurry, combine cornstarch and water in a cup. Mix in cornstarch with water until it is fully dissolved. Once the sauce has been simmering for a few minutes and the sugar has dissolved, add in the cornstarch slurry. Whisk in cornstarch slurry until it is fully combined and the sauce has thickened.
8. Add cooked chicken into the sauce and fully coat chicken in the sauce. Allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce for a couple minutes, then, toss in steamed broccoli and coat in sauce for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and enjoy.