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- Published on June 12, 2021
- at 11:21 am
- No Comments
Chinese Lemon Chicken 柠檬鸡
AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryMeatDifficultyBeginnerChinese style lemon chicken is a dish consisting of battered and deep fried chicken pieces covered in a sweet and sour lemon sauce thickened with corn starch. Its flavour profile is widely popular and it has become one of most well-known Chinese chicken dishes in the world. You will find a rendition of this dish on the menu of any Chinese restaurant outside of China, no problem.
Origins
But is it actually from China? Or was it created for westernised palette?
While the dish does have cantonese origins, you will have a hard time finding it in traditional restaurants in China because lemons are not readily used in Chinese cuisine.
Chinese lemon chicken is one of those dishes that you either love it or hate it. As a spice lover, I’ve never been drawn to it, for me its sweet and sour flavours are a bit one dimensional. And often times when you order it at a restaurant or for take away, it’s greasy by the time you eat it and overly sweet with the amount of sugar added.
Easy recipe that's perfect for homecooks
But my sister-in-law and her family are huge fans, and that has made me take a second look at the dish. My conclusion is that you can make it more interesting and less greasy by cooking at home! By including aromatic in the preparation process, you can boost the flavour complexity. And by adding the sauce to the chicken at the last possible moment, you will keep the contrast between the crispy fried chicken and the smooth sweet sauce.
The ingredients are few and easy to find or substituted. So why not try it tonight? I promise it’ll be better than take out!
You Will Need
300 g Chicken Breast or Thighs
Oil for deep frying
Marinade
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black pepper
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wineor white wine
Ginger and green onion slices
Batter
¼ cup All purpose flour
¼ cup Corn starch
¼ cup Rice flourOr omit and increase the amount of the other 2 flours
1 Egg
⅓ cup Water
Pinch of salt and pepper
Sauce
1 ½ LemonsZest for 1 lemon and juice from 1 1/2 lemons
1 tsp Butter
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Honey
1 cup Chicken broth
1 tbsp Corn starchMake a slurry by mixing with 2 tbsp water
Ginger and green onion slices
Instructions
Prep:
1
Cut chicken into slices or cubes.
2
Marinate the chicken with all the marinade ingredients for 20min.
3
Make batter by combining all batter ingredients together.
4
After 20min, pick out the ginger and onion slices from the chicken and put chicken pieces into the batter, mix to combine.
5
Make the sauce by combining lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and honey.
Cooking
6
Heat up about 2 inches of oil in a pot until small bubbles starts to raise around the chop sticks when you put it in.
7
Place chicken pieces into the hot oil one by one. Stir it around in the oil so they don stick together and deep fry in 2 batches until cooked through and slightly golden. This should take approx. 5min. Then remove and drain off excess oil.
8
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add butter. Then add in ginger and green onion slices and stir fry until soften. ~1min
9
Add in chicken stock and simmer together for 2min before removing the ginger and onions slices.
10
Add in the lemon mixture and simmer for another 2min over medium heat.
11
Meanwhile, increase the oil temperature and re-fry all the chicken pieces together for ~3min or until golden brown and crispy. Then remove, drain off excess oil and set on a plate.
12
To the simmering lemon sauce, add the corn starch slurry and cook until the sauce has thickened.
13
Pour the sauce over the fried chicken pieces and serve immediately.
Ingredients
300 g Chicken Breast or Thighs
Oil for deep frying
Marinade
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black pepper
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wineor white wine
Ginger and green onion slices
Batter
¼ cup All purpose flour
¼ cup Corn starch
¼ cup Rice flourOr omit and increase the amount of the other 2 flours
1 Egg
⅓ cup Water
Pinch of salt and pepper
Sauce
1 ½ LemonsZest for 1 lemon and juice from 1 1/2 lemons
1 tsp Butter
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Honey
1 cup Chicken broth
1 tbsp Corn starchMake a slurry by mixing with 2 tbsp water
Ginger and green onion slices
Directions
Prep:
1
Cut chicken into slices or cubes.
2
Marinate the chicken with all the marinade ingredients for 20min.
3
Make batter by combining all batter ingredients together.
4
After 20min, pick out the ginger and onion slices from the chicken and put chicken pieces into the batter, mix to combine.
5
Make the sauce by combining lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and honey.
Cooking
6
Heat up about 2 inches of oil in a pot until small bubbles starts to raise around the chop sticks when you put it in.
7
Place chicken pieces into the hot oil one by one. Stir it around in the oil so they don stick together and deep fry in 2 batches until cooked through and slightly golden. This should take approx. 5min. Then remove and drain off excess oil.
8
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add butter. Then add in ginger and green onion slices and stir fry until soften. ~1min
9
Add in chicken stock and simmer together for 2min before removing the ginger and onions slices.
10
Add in the lemon mixture and simmer for another 2min over medium heat.
11
Meanwhile, increase the oil temperature and re-fry all the chicken pieces together for ~3min or until golden brown and crispy. Then remove, drain off excess oil and set on a plate.
12
To the simmering lemon sauce, add the corn starch slurry and cook until the sauce has thickened.
13
Pour the sauce over the fried chicken pieces and serve immediately.
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