Since discovering The Pioneer Women, I have managed to get my hands on all her cookbooks and I try never to miss a show of hers.

I love  her recipes, they are so simple to make and so kitchen friendly and there are never any complicated kitchen equipment being used.

I hope to one day visit The Merc, but we will wait and see if I can find myself a cowboy to take me there.

I was watching a rerun of an old episode of hers where she was making orange chicken for her daughters and it looked so tantalising that I wanted to run out and buy myself a batch of orange chicken to eat.

Funny enough I had all the ingredients in the pantry even up to the oranges and we never have oranges at home. No one eats them or likes them as a matter of fact.

Ingredients:

• 4 x egg whites.
• 3 x Tbsp cornstarch.
• 4 x chicken breasts, cubed.
• ½ x cup orange juice.
• 1 x Tbsp soy sauce.
• 1 x Tbsp treacle brown sugar.
• 1 x Tbsp rice vinegar.
• ¼ x tsp sesame oil.
• Pinch of red chilli flakes.
• 1 x clove of garlic, grated.
• 1 x piece of ginger, peeled and grated.
• Zest of one orange.
• Chives to garnish.

Method:

• Whisk together the egg white4s and 2tbsp cornstarch together.
• Add the chicken and marinade for 10 minutes.
• Deep fry the chicken cubes in batches till golden brown and drain on kitchen towels.
• In a pot, mix the orange juice, soy sauce, treacle sugar and vinegar together and bring to the boil.
• Add in the sesame oil, salt, chilli flakes, ginger and garlic and give it a good stir.
• Grate in the orange zest.
• Allow the mixture to come to the boil.
• Whisk the remaining 1 x tbsp. corn starch with ¼ x cup water to form a nice smooth paste.
• Pour this paste into the pot and stir.
• Allow the mixture to boil till it thickens.
• Add in the chicken pieces and toss to coat.
• Allow the chicken to heat up and then remove the pot from the stove.
• Garnish with chopped chives.