Orange Chicken Sauce

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This sauce offers a little sweet and a little tang. The best part is that it’s packed full of flavor and complements chicken, pork, and even tofu.

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oilor grapeseed oil
4 cloves garlicminced
½ cup loosely packed dried tangerine peelor grated orange zest
1 cup orange juice
¾ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup light soy sauceor use tamari if gluten-free
¼ cup Shaoxing wineor Japanese sake, dry sherry, or chicken stock
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt

Directions

Add dried tangerine skin in a small bowl and add hot water to cover. Let soak for about 20 Minutes, or until the tangerine skin softens. Drain and finely slice. Transfer 1/4 cup sliced tangerine skin into a bowl, and save the rest in a container in the fridge for next time. If you do not use dried tangerine peel, grate about four orange skins to make 1/2 cup orange zest.

Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and the re-hydrated tangerine skin to a big bowl. Stir until the cornstarch is fully combined.

Heat oil in a saucepan until warm. Add garlic and minced ginger. Cook and stir until you smell a strong fragrance.

Stir to mix the sauce again to completely dissolve the cornstarch. Pour into the pan. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens, just enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Transfer the sauce into a bowl immediately, so it won’t continue to cook in residual heat.

Transfer the sauce in an airtight jar or container once cooled down. Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Re-heating

Microwave sauce (1/3 cup to 1/2 cup) by 30 seconds increments. Stir and continue to heat until the sauce turns hot without bubbling.

If you heat the sauce on stove-top, always use low heat and stir the sauce frequently to prevent scorching.

If you freeze the sauce, some of the liquid might separate and the thawed sauce can look like jelly. Simply stir to mix the sauce together and reheat in the microwave or on the stove. You can restore the sauce to the previous consistency.

Roasted Poblano Sauce

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A versatile sauce that can be made ahead and used on just about anything!

Ingredients

For roasting:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 onionpeeled and coarsely chopped
2 poblano pepperde-veined and seeded
For the rest of the sauce:
6 tbsp butter
½ cup flour
2 cups milkwarm in microwave
2 cups chicken or vegetable brothwarm in microwave
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap garlic in foil with a light drizzle of olive oil. Toss the poblanos and onion with the remaining oil. Place all 3 items on a baking sheet and roast for 25-30 Minutes or until very soft.

Melt butter in saucepan and whisk flour in until a thick paste forms. Slowly add the warm milk and broth and whisk until sauce is smooth and thickened. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes.

Add half of the sauce into a blender with the roasted vegetables and blend until mostly smooth.

Transfer sauce back to the pan with remainder sauce and combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like. Enjoy!

NOTES: The longer you leave the sauce to simmer, the thicker it will get. If it gets too thick, thin with some warm broth or water. You can also make a double batch of this sauce and store in freezer.