Panda Express Employee Exposes Orange Chicken Recipe and TikTok is Impressed

TikTok viewers love to see behind-the-scenes footage from their favorite restaurants. And, in the latest example of the trend, a Panda Express employee used the platform to share how the brand's famous Orange Chicken is actually made, leaving her audience amazed.

Described on the company's site as their "signature dish," Orange Chicken is by far Panda Express' top-selling item. As of 2017, reported Delish, over 50 percent of orders contain Orange Chicken, and the fast-food chain sells 70 million pounds of the dish each year.

The clip, found here, begins with TikToker @theycallmevero_ announcing: "How to make Orange Chicken at Panda Express." Beside her in the restaurant's kitchen area are several coworkers, all of whom are visibly wearing Panda Express uniforms.

She begins by showing the camera her work station, explaining she first adds garlic and chili to the hot pan. "You're gonna stir it up," she says.

She then adds two-and-a-half ladlefuls of the Orange Chicken sauce to the mixture, while impressive flames lick the pan's perimeter.

The TikToker then heads to the other end of the kitchen, where she lifts a fryer full of chicken and tosses its contents into a container. She returns to her work station and adds the chicken to the sauce, which, by this point, is bubbling away.

She deftly tosses the wok, using her ladle to help incorporate the chicken. "Flip, flip, flip," she repeats. For the final step, she adds in a small amount of sesame oil, and gives the whole thing a final toss.

"And then—boom—you're done. You just made Orange Chicken," she says.

Since it was posted on Sunday, the clip has amassed over 630,000 views and almost 80,000 likes. Judging from the comments, viewers seem surprised by the video's wholesome content.

"[I'm] surprised you guys actually use woks! [That's] dope," wrote one commenter.

"That flip is def a flex!" commented another, complimenting the TikToker's wok skills.

Others flooded the video's comments section begging for future videos—including step-by-step explainers on the chain's other dishes, like Walnut Shrimp and Kung Pao Chicken. To those commenters, @theycallmevero_ said she would happily oblige and make more videos in the future.

Newsweek has reached out to @theycallmevero_ for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Meanwhile, the famed Orange Chicken has made headlines of its own in recent weeks: last month, Panda Express launched a plant-based version of the dish, using Beyond Meat, at a handful of locations. According to VegNews, the state of California completely sold out of the plant-based Orange Chicken within just two weeks, highlighting consumers' enthusiasm for the vegan alternative.