The variety of orange chicken most commonly found at North American Chinese restaurants consists of chopped, battered and fried chicken pieces coated in a sweet orange-flavored chili sauce, which thickens or caramelizes to a glaze.

Chef Andy Kao claims to have developed the original Chinese-American orange chicken recipe at a Panda Express in Hawaii in 1987.

"[1] Orange chicken has also entered the menus of the mainstream U.S. by being served in school cafeterias,[4] and in military bases' chow halls,[5] and also found in the supermarket frozen meal aisle.

[6][7] Jimmy Wang, executive director of culinary innovation at Panda Express, claims orange chicken is one of the most creative dishes in the past thirty years.

[12] In the TV series The Big Bang Theory, the character Sheldon's favorite Chinese food is orange chicken.