July 26, 2021: Panda Express Orange Chicken Getting Plant-Based Makeover


Episode Artwork
1.0x
0% played 00:00 00:00
Jul 26 2021 9 mins  

It’s Meatless Monday and Panda Express is making one of their classics without meat.

That’s right, the orange chicken can now be ordered without the chicken! Panda Express has teamed up with the Beyond Meat team to bring a plant-based twist on their classic orange chicken dish.

Listen as chef Nyesha Arrington and restaurateur Philip Camino give you a little history lesson on Panda Express’ orange chicken, Beyond Meat’s foray into chicken, and how this new plant-based dish might stack up to the original.

Listen to Philip and Nyesha discuss orange chicken:

  • Panda Express chef Andy Kao created the famous orange chicken dish in 1987, four years after the first store opened
  • Panda Express has served more than 80 million pounds of orange chicken since 2016 alone
  • Panda Express chef Jimmy Wong spent more than a year working with Beyond Meat to develop the product
  • It will have the same size, taste, and texture of the original orange chicken
  • Beyond Meat recently launched plant-based chicken tenders nationwide
  • Beyond Meat’s plant-based chicken tenders are made with fava beans and peas and have 14 grams of protein per serving
  • The dish is only available for a limited time in select locations in New York City and southern California

Links:

Happy Mouth Podcast Instagram

Restaurant Business Online - Panda Express transforms its signature original orange chicken into a plant-based dish

Restaurant Business Online - Beyond Chicken Tenders launches on restaurant menus nationwide

Panda Express - Our family story

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Full Comp 

The Happy Mouth Morning Show

Restaurant Marketing School

The Playbook