This Asian style orange sauce is an easy way to make a quick and healthy meal that your whole family will love! Make up this sweet and savory sauce in minutes to make vegan orange cauliflower, orange "chicken," or orange tofu! Your kids will devour it and beg for more! If you miss orange chicken from Panda Express or your favorite Chinese restaurant, this recipe is for you!
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❤️ You'll love this recipe because
- quick and easy to make.
- made with simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
- gluten-free, soy-free, and vegan so everyone can enjoy it.
- a great dipping sauce for spring rolls, fried tofu, and fried cauliflower nuggets.
- great for getting your kids to eat their veggies!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Orange Juice - fresh squeezed tastes best and allows you to use less sugar, but you can use any store-bought orange juice.
- Sugar - to make it a sweet sticky sauce. (You can adjust the sugar to suit your taste. You can also use maple syrup or agave nectar instead).
- Vinegar - for some acidity to cut the sweetness. You can use white vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar.
- Soy Sauce - for an authentic flavor. For gluten-free use Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos. You can also use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce for a soy-free option.
- Sesame Oil - for a classic Asian flavor. (optional)
- Potato Starch - to thicken your sauce. You can also use corn starch, however, I think that potato starch gives it a better texture that doesn't get gloppy once it starts to cool.
- Garlic - for flavor.
- Red Pepper Flakes or Chili Garlic Sauce - for some spice. (optional) (I find the chili garlic sauce in the Asian section of the grocery store).
- Ginger - for flavor. Freshly grated ginger will give your sauce a little kick and a more authentic flavor, but it is optional.
🥄 Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and stir with a whisk.
- Turn the heat on to medium and stir the sauce frequently.
- Once it starts to bubble stir continuously and allow to boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. (It will thicken some more as it cools off a little).
🍬 How to make it refined sugar-free
You can easily swap out the sugar for maple syrup, agave nectar, or any other natural sweetener of your choice. You can also use sweet fresh-squeezed orange juice and leave the sugar out completely.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- You can control how thick or thin you want the sauce by adding more or less starch.
- For a thinner sauce add 1 tablespoon of starch. For a thicker sauce add 2 tablespoons of starch.
- Don't add the starch after the liquid warms up, it will only dissolve in cold water and get clumpy if added to hot liquid.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerator: The orange sauce will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freezing: Orange sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating: You can reheat it in the microwave for about 2 minutes on high or reheat it in a pan on the stovetop. Note: The orange sauce will be thicker when cold.
🥢 What to make with it
- Use as a dipping sauce for simple vegan spring rolls.
- Pour over fried cauliflower, fried tofu, baked cauliflower nuggets, or your favorite stir fry.
- You can also pour it over vegan chicken nuggets for a vegan orange chicken.
- Toss with cooked rice noodles and veggies.
🌟 More Asian inspired recipes
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A Chinese style orange sauce to serve over rice to make vegan orange chicken, tofu, or cauliflower.
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup if you use fresh-squeezed orange juice.
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch or potato starch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos for gluten-free. Coconut Aminos for soy-free
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger optional
- 1 dash turmeric (optional for color)
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Put all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and stir.
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Turn on heat to medium, and stir frequently until it starts to boil.
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Allow it to boil slowly for about 30 seconds and then remove from the heat.
- Use 2 tablespoons of corn or potato starch for a thicker sauce.
- Use 1 tablespoon of corn or potato starch for a thinner sauce.
- Don't add the starch after the liquid warms up, it will only dissolve in cold water and get clumpy if added to hot liquid.
- The sauce will thicken as it cools.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Did you make this recipe? I would love to hear from you! Please take a minute and leave a quick comment and a star review below. Thanks!
P.S. I don't see where you used the Sesame Oil in the recipe. Please clarify. Thanks.
You will just need to add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil with the rest of the ingredients. Enjoy! 🙂
I have regular chili sauce. Can I just add garlic powder to it? How much?
A clove of minced garlic will probably give you the best flavor to replace it, but if you don't have that, use 1/4 tsp of garlic powder. Enjoy! 🙂
Monica I made this last night using corn starch and made orange cauliflower (also was craving vegan orange chicken) and this was AMAZING!!!! My boyfriend of almost 7 years said this was one of the best meals I have made him! I will be using this recipe from now on. Thank you so much!!!!
I'm so happy that you guys liked it, Abby! 🙂
I'm going to try this tonight with fried tofu! Any suggestions on what to serve it with? I don't have rice on hand.
Any grain would work well. Maybe couscous or quinoa? Hope you enjoy the orange tofu! 🙂
Do you think this recipe could be canned? I would like to have it on hand, and it's not in the stores.
I'm sorry Cindy, but I don't know for sure. I think that it would be fine, but I don't know enough about canning to give you advice on this. You can freeze it though if that works for you. Enjoy!:)
Would it still work to sub the sugar for a healthier alternative like agave?
Yes, that will work fine. Enjoy! 🙂
do you think i could use arrowroot starch instead of potato starch?
Yes, arrowroot will work well instead of potato starch.
I used this orange sauce over your fried tofu recipe and it was AMAZING! Loved orange chicken before I went vegan and this satisfied my cravings for it!
Thanks, Jen, it does satisfy my craving for orange chicken too! 🙂