Last Sunday night, Adam and I were eating a quick dinner at PF Changs (got a gift card for Christmas!) and like every other time I have ever been to PF Changs in my life, I ordered my absolute favorite dish: Orange Peel Shrimp with brown rice.
Oh, orange peel shrimp!!! How I love you. I was in between mouthfuls and was licking the last little bit of sweet and spicy glaze off my fork when it dawned on me that I should try to recreate it at home. It couldn’t be that hard, right? Hah! Think again. It was totally hard! I think of myself way more of a baker than a cook, mostly because I love the guarantee and safety of “if I measure this exactly and follow the recipe it will turn out”. I know that yeast + water + salt + flour = bread….in some way, shape or form. I’m not the type of girl that can open a fridge and make a meal on nothing….that’s Bev, and my mom. Sure, I’ve learned a lot over the past few years of cooking practically every day, but it still doesn’t come as naturally as kneading dough and frosting cupcakes.
So, to develop this recipe I stood over my stove for hours—tasting, testing and jotting down notes in my grease splattered journal. First it was too spicy, then it was too salty…then it wasn’t sweet enough.
Then finally, just like that……it was PERFECT.
I mean, really perfect! I was excited that I ate half of it and carefully covered up the other half with plastic wrap before driving it down to Adam’s house for him to try. He loved it, too, and we both agreed that it gave PF Changs a run for their money.
The secret is using marmalade….and tossing your shrimp in cornstarch before lightly frying. The cornstarch forms a super crunchy outer shell on the shrimp that keeps even when doused in the delicious orange peel sauce.
And guess what? Monday is Chinese New Year! You should totally make this to celebrate.
Head to PBS Food for the recipe!
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PF Changs has some great sauces and I remember lots of fun meals out (and fun drinks too) back in the day for me and my hubs, courtesy of PF Changs.
Your shrimp looks awesome!
PFChangs is one of my favorite places for good Asian food! If this dish is going to give them a run for their money, you know it’s gotta be good! Thanks for posting, Jenna!
I wonder if being a ‘baker’ or a ‘cook’ says anything about your personality in general!? Looks yummy!
Aww, thanks for the love, my dear.
And this shrimp is something I DEFINITELY need to make. And then call you to come help me eat it. And then ask you to bring something sweet and baked. And then we drink wine. And then cry.
Type A personalities usually prefer baking for the exactness. I lean towards type A and would used to wonder when I cooked, “Is this clove of garlic too big for the recipe’s interpretation of a clove.” And then I’d look for a smaller clove.
Drinking a small amount of an adult beverage is necessary for type A personalities when they cook to let these small things go. Ha!
We don’t have PF Changs here in Canada but I’ve been to one location in the US. Asian food is one of my favourite cuisines, and well, let’s face it – how can you go wrong with spicy sweet shrimp!? Thanks for taking the time to perfect the sauce – I admire your dedication Jenna!
YUM! I used to always get orange peel shrimp/chicken at PF Changs. I love that you recreated this!
I’m totally making this. We loooove shrimp and the colors of these are too pretty to turn down! I’ve used a similar method to make orange beef and broccoli (with the cornstarch and the marmalade)… and it was super yummy. Great post!
looks amazing! Heading over there now
Looks great! I recently tried shrimp and loved it.
Mmm love PF Chang’s.. I always get Buddha’s Delight.
I’m curious – how many renditions of a recipe do you usually go through to get it just right? I would imagine that gets pretty pricey!
I can’t wait to make this!
i ate waaaay too much pf chang’s in college that i have just not been able to stomach it since then. but after a 5 year hiatus, i’m thinking this recipe might be a good way to ease me back in!
This looks awesome. And I’m not much of a shrimp person! So that says a lot!
YUM. I’m with you– I never understand when people say “I can cook, but I can’t bake.” I feel the opposite– with baking, you know that you follow the “rules,” you’ll get a good product. The same can’t be said for more loosey goosey cooking!
Orange Peel Shrimp and Cashew Chicken are my two all time favorite Chinese dishes…I will try to make this! Thanks!
oh man, I haven’t eaten there in years! It’s now on my list.
Ya know, I love shrimp and I go through phases where I forget about it which is really unfortunate. Thanks for the reminder
This recipe looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
We love PF Changs although haven’t been in years {so, really…do we love it that much? no, we’re just frugal!} but I’m glad you’ve made this recipe. Now we can eat our PF Changs meal for half the cost at home! Have a lovely weekend.
p.s. Hope your yoga teacher training goes well ~ can’t wait to hear all about it!
I LOVE Orange Peel Chicken, so I know I would love this! It looks amazing!
This looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try it!
PF Changs is my weakness. I’ve perfected their lettuce wraps at home but orange peel shrimp is impressive!
PF Changs is our favorite restaurant, think you could make the same dish with chicken? Made the cauliflower last night, and the pot pie the night before, he is so stuck on that pot pie….He keeps on asking how I’m coming up with so many great recipes, I kept it a secret, but then had to give you the credit.
I definitely think you could make the same thing with chicken. Just be sure to chop the chicken into small, bite sized pieces and be sure to cook it until it’s done before tossing in the sauce. It will probably cook in about 6-8 minutes. YAY about the cauliflower!
Oh dear how I love cornstarch fried shrimp. If my mother in law doesn’t make some for lunar new year, Imma gonna be pissed,
Oh. My. Goodness. This looks amazing!!
Jenna! This looks amazing! I’m glad you did the testing so we don’t have to – this really looks like a delicious dish (and I know if it’s anything like the one at PF Changs, it is!).
Jenna, another winner! But, I am not a huge orange fan, could sub lemon right? And use lemon marmalade…is there such a thing? How bout lemon curd, adding some zest to give it that little bit of crunch and texture. BTW when I made your delicious frosting, using egg whites, the leftover yolks are perfect for whipping up a batch of curd.
PS I don’t know whether to thank you or curse you re Madewell
The morning you posted about it, I just happened to be going to a luncheon in Larkspur, which is 10 minutes from the Corte Madera store, so I obviously had to stop in…love their stuff, and even at my age found some very cute age appropriate tops. Definitely a Jenna store!!
1. this looks amazingly delicious, and I don’t even really like shrimp that much.
2. i figure since we live in the same city, it’s only fair that you become my personal chef.
I’ll just stop by on my way home from work to pick up my dinners. deal?
This looks so good! And probably much healthier than the PF Changs version. Thanks!
This looks delicious! I am thinking about sautéing some veggies and tossing them in the sauce as well. Maybe carrot sticks and some colorful bell peppers…Oh and even though you said no to on the recipe, I love taking tiny bites of the chili peppers to spice things up!
Looks so good! PF Changs has awesome sauces. Thanks for the home version!
This looks so so yummy. And I love that there aren’t too many ingredients; keepin’ it simple. I like!
Thanks for the recipe, I will have to try making this sometime soon. NoMeatAthlete turned me onto Masa Harina (cornmeal made with lyme) that could be interesting to try on this dish.
Thanks!
That looks and sounds delicious!
Looks so yummy and seems so easy to make – - total win in my books
Way to stick with it! I would have tossed in the towel (erm, apron) after the first mediocre taste…’cuz that’s what I have YOU for!
My husband would absolutely love this recipe! He adores the orange chicken from PF Changs, and this would be a great alternative!
Where is there a local PF Changs? I have a $10 gift certificate. Actually, I’ll probably never use it… you can just have it. Love!
hahaha save it!
The PF changs is in Corte Madera…
I haven’t been to PF Changs in years, but I’d stick to same dish every time too. Their lemon scallops are divine…
Jenna, your pictures are so gorgeous… The colors are very vivid. Love the angles that you use! What kind of camera do you have?
I know what’s for dinner. Thanks for the inspiration! YUM YUMMMMMM!
YUM! I also was at PF Changs last weekend. Hehe.
This is brilliant and so beautiful!! I hope to make it.
I think I’ve said this before, but you’ve really outdone yourself this time. I am drooling and my stomach is growling. Your blood orange soda pretty much rocks too.
Makin this tonight- for real! I bought all of the ingredients yesterday =) Looks soooo good
Wonderful yumminesss! I make an orange chicken that uses marmalade. Using it with shrimp is making my mouth water. I guess I have been missing something by not going to a PF Changs.
Happy Chinese New Year! This looks really delicious.
Jenna this was truly extraordinary! I made it last night. I want to try it with tofu. thank you thank you.
Oh this looks amazing and I just happen to have some extra oranges on hand. I like anything that tastes like it came from PF Changs. Always a winner!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was ah-mazing. It was very spicy; I used serrano chilies instead of Thai. My husband said it was “SPICY but badass!”. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made this last night and my family, especially my 11 year old, loved it. I cook for my MIL who is a stroke patient and on a 1500mg sodium a day diet, so I completely left out the soy sauce. Also left out the peppers because I couldn’t find any and thought they might be a bit much for us anyway. Still a great sweet/heat combo. Thanks for the great recipe!
Crazy good recipe. Used jalapeno jelly as an experiment and it was good…& very spicy. Those that don’t like really spicy might want to remember to leave the Thai peppers out of this version.
jalepeno jelly?! sounds amazing!
Made this tonight and omg was it good. Fabulous recipe, definitely going into the rotation! I left out the peppers because my bf isn’t into spicy but it was still amazing.
I made this a few days ago and while it was tasty, it was not my favorite. Personally, I found the whole dish overwhelmingly bitter due to the marmalade. The back of my palate was so, for lack of a better word, uncomfortable that I couldn’t even finish my plate. I will make it again, but next time I will use something along the line of apple jelly instead… I want to maintain that sticky-sweet fruit flavor but remove that excessive bitter orange peel feeling.
I enjoyed making this so much! The amount of spicy and sweetness was divine! will be making this for my man-friend again soon! Thanks!
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