Last week I shared how to make your own orange peels at home for tea and decoctions. This week we're utilizing the rest of the orange by making a sauce!
This is one of my favorite sauces to prepare for dinner; it's sticky, sweet, and loaded with flavor. We get the benefits from the orange juice because it's directly from the source with no additives. Typically when you buy sauce at the store they're loaded with artificial sweeteners and food dyes. I encourage you to make as much as you can at home. Here we get concentrated doses of vitamin C, Quercetin, and other plant flavonoids!
My favorite way to use this sauce is by cubing chicken, breading it, cooking it over a skillet, and tossing it with the sauce. You could also make a vegan version by using tofu; press excess liquid out of the tofu, cube and season it, and sear on a hot pan. You could also make a similar breading for the tofu if you want a little extra crunch. Another vegan option would be to cook some seasoned chickpeas, sauté some mushrooms, and toss the two in sauce. No matter what your choice of protein is, make sure to add it to a plate of veggies like cauliflower rice and broccoli.
Orange Sauce Recipe
Ready in 20 minutes
Serves 8 people
SAUCE - V - GF
Ingredients
1 Cup fresh juice from oranges
1/2 Cup coconut sugar OR 1/3 Cup brown sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
3 cloves garlic mixed
2 tbsp gluten free cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Preparation
Mix all ingredients, EXCEPT water and cornstarch, into a saucepan.
Heat the saucepan until sugar is starting to dissolve. You don't need to bring the pot to a boil, but you can let it start to simmer.
In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water to form a slurry.
Once the simmering starts, grab your whisk. Whisk consistently while slowly streaming the cornstarch mixture (the slurry) into the pot. You may not need to use all of it; pause halfway and let a few bubbles form. Add more slurry if necessary.
Kill the heat, let cool for one minute, mix, and pour over your cooked protein source. Toss to coat and serve with broccoli and rice, or any veggies you want!
Tips
If you want to save some sauce for another day, store in an air tight container. When you reheat it, you may need to add some warm water to loosen it up a bit.
*All pictures used are my own