“One time, I had some leftovers and heated them in the wok and put them into a tortilla,” Isaac Sandoval says. “It was somewhat of an aha moment. I tried replicating an orange sauce and served it as a burrito off the food truck. It’s been a customer favorite ever since.”
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work best for this recipe. “For the fried version, I would say the best process would be to dice or slice the chicken thighs, bread them in flour, egg wash, and seasoned breading, and fry in a wok,” Sandoval says. “Using frozen chicken tenders also works perfectly.”
ORANGE SAUCE
- A 12- or 16-ounce jar of orange marmalade
- 12 or 16 ounces of orange juice
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch plus 3 tablespoons of water, for slurry
BURRITOS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 bell peppers (choose a combo of red, yellow, orange, or green), deseeded and diced
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, grilled or breaded
- 4 ounces Orange Sauce
- 6 tortillas
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 ½ cups basmati rice, cooked
Makes about 6 burritos
ORANGE SAUCE
1. Combine the orange marmalade, orange juice, and seasonings in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and add cornstarch slurry. Boil for a minute or until the sauce has a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and reserve for serving.
BURRITOS
1. In a wok, heat the olive oil and saute bell peppers until tender. Add cooked chicken and orange sauce. Cook components together until sauce is reduced and almost caramelized.
2. While the orange chicken is cooking, warm tortillas on both sides in a cast-iron plancha or skillet. (Try not to toast the tortillas because they need to be flexible enough to roll up.) Flip tortillas, top with cheese and let it melt.
3. As you remove each tortilla from the plancha, place on a piece of aluminum foil wrap. Add some basmati rice on top of the tortilla with melted cheese, then add sauteed orange chicken and peppers from wok.
4. Bring two ends of the tortilla up to touch each other and push the ingredients to the center of the tortilla. Lay ends down and take the opposite ends and tuck the tortilla about a quarter of the way over the mixture. Once folded, pull the end of the tortilla closest to you up over the mixture and roll, holding the folded ends with your pinky fingers. Wrap in aluminum foil, and it’s ready to go.
Note: Sandoval recommends letting the burritos cool before wrapping them in the foil. Once cooled, wrap and let rest in the fridge overnight. In the morning, heat the wrapped burritos up in the oven in a skillet.
This recipe originally appeared in Funky Town by Lynn Cline.