Everyone needs a throw-it-together-fast-and-toss-it-in-the-crockpot main dish for the busier than usual days that come to us all. Because it only takes 4-5 hours in the slow cooker, this is an especially great dish when you glance at the clock in the early afternoon and realize that the great dinner you had planned for later is probably not going to happen.
This is not super fancy, but, hello, I did say slow cooker. If you’d like it a bit sweeter, add a little more orange marmalade. Hotter? More sriracha or Tabasco. Less fat? WHAT fat? It’s a very flexible recipe.
It is great served over rice. Add a vegetable for a quick side, some store bought rolls and you have a great meal.
Meet Kade. He’s two. He likes to eat. He doesn’t give a rip about a food photo shoot other than the fact that it involves food.
Crockpot Chicken a l’Orange
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into largeish bite-sized cubes
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, I used low sodium
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced or grated
- thumb-size piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced or grated
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons sriracha chile sauce or a few drops Tabasco--whatever your heat palate prefers
- 2 tablespoons corn starch, original recipe called for 1 tablespoon, but I wanted a thicker sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder, or to taste, optional but recommended
- spring onions, sliced for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the ketchup, orange marmalade, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha or Tabasco, and sesame oil. Regarding the heat level with the sriracha or Tabasco: if you are unsure about how hot you want your meal, it may be best to use these at the table instead of adding them to the cooking liquid.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken. Using a spoon (or utensil of choice) push the chicken pieces around a little bit to make sure the sauce gets to the bottom of the cooker.
- Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.
- Remove chicken to a separate dish. Turn the crockpot to high.
- Add a small amount of water to the cornstarch and stir well. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the sauce and stir until the sauce thickens. You may need to cover the crockpot for a few minutes to give the sauce time to thicken. The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, but I needed two tablespoons to thicken the sauce to my liking.
- Garnish with sliced spring onions, if desired.
Notes
This is a picture of the brand of Chinese Five Spice powder that I use. Five Spice Powder is a blend of ground cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, Szechuan pepper, and star anise. It can be found in the grocery store spice isle or perhaps in the Asian section of the grocery store.
You may also like:
Pork Chops with Dressing and Creamy Gravy {Slow Cooker}
Creamy Mushroom Chicken Over Linguini
Sweet Pork {Cafe Rio copy cat}
I seriously salivate and drool and get on my shoes so I can run to the grocery store every time I get on your site. Seriously?? Look at this photo?! I love that you give options for more spice, etc. You really do know how to please. And your fancy/ hello/crock pot comment? Too funny!! Crock pot trumps fancy any day at my house. 🙂
p.s. Haha! I just played cat and mouse. Totally funny!!
Der . . . I just answered you on my blog but realized I should answer you on yours, so I’ll do both. As for staying up late, I said, “LOL! Good question. Um . . . unwinding?! Yeah, let’s go with unwinding. Sounds more legitimate than “watching tv”. Yes?”
I’m a huge fan of Kayotic Kitchen, so I love that you pulled the recipe from Kay! It looks utterly delicious.
Jenna–I just recently found Kayotic Kitchen through Pinterest and could stop looking at everything she has there! It is really a great blog.
This looks so delicious and I think Kade does too – what a cutie!
I would love to eat this dish!! Amazing flavors and I love that you used a crock-pot. 🙂
Susan–That was sweet of you to comment on my Kade. I have to admit, I do love watching him. When I was photographing the dish, I looked up to find him just quietly standing at the end of the coffee table holding his fork and waiting patiently for me to finish. I LOVE grandkids!
Ramona–Thank you. Aren’t crock-pots a life saver?!
Aw, Kade is so cute!!! And your crockpot chicken sounds fabulous! Another use for that marmalade that sits in my refrigerator 🙂
Did you use the Chinese 5 spice powder? I’ve never heard of it nor know where to find it.
Julie, unfortunately I had just thrown out my Chinese 5 Spice Powder (old, needed to be replaced) a couple of weeks before I made this recipe and had forgotten to buy more. Five spice powder is made from ground cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise, and Szechuan pepper. The brand that I usually have on hand is Dynasty. It can often be found in the spice area of your grocery store or sometimes in the Asian section of the grocery store. I have added a picture of a jar of it to the blog post.
Wow, this looks out-of-this-world delicious! I love the bright color of the chicken, I would devour this in no time! Your son is so adorable 🙂 I wouldn’t care about a photo shoot either if this was in front of my face!
This looks delicious! I’m a huge fan of sweet and spicy, plus I love that touch of 5 spice that you throw in at the end. I’ve bookmarked this for soon!
Amalia–Thank you! It’s so nice to have you here. Thank you also for your comment about Kade. I must confess, though, that he is my grandson…which of course means that I can hardly take my eyes off of him. I never knew how much I would adore my grandchildren!
MJ–I love sweet and spicy, too. They seem made for each other!