Lemon Chicken

Chinese Easy prep15 mins cook10 mins total time2 hrs 25 mins servings4 addedAugust 2020

Marinade

• 1 – 1¼ pounds chicken thigh (can use breast), cut into bite-size pieces
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg white
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ¾ teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing (rice) wine
• 1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1½ tablespoons corn starch

1. Cut the chicken into boneless, bite-size pieces.
2. Add salt, egg white, white pepper, sugar, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and cornstarch. Mix well.
3. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Coat & Fry

• ½ cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Peanut or vegetable oil, for deep-frying

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt as flour mix
2. Add the flour mix to the chicken pieces. Add more if it is insufficient to cover all the chicken. Any excess flour will fall off from the chicken.
3. Shake off the excess flour. Deep fry in hot oil at 350°F for 3-4 minutes per side, or when the color turns golden brown.
4. Remove the chicken from the oil. Drain the oil on a kitchen towel and set aside.

Tips

• It may be easiest to place the flour mix into a bag, add a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.
• The original recipe suggests using 50% corn flour to improve crispiness.

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons honey
• Zest from 2 lemons
• Juice from 2 lemons

1. Place the sugar, cornstarch and water in a small pot or saucepan. Remove it when the sugar is dissolved, the sauce thickens and turns translucent.
2. Set aside until it returns to room temperature.
3. Add the honey, lemon juice, lemon zest to the cornstarch mixture that has cool down to room temperature. Mix well.
4. If the taste is too assertive, thin with additional water.

Final Assembly

• Lettuce, to garnish
• White sesame seeds, roasted, to garnish
• Scallions, to garnish

1. Place the chicken on a large piece of lettuce.
2. Drizzle the sauce on the chicken. Garnish with roasted white sesame and cut scallion.

Tips

• Marinating the chicken is an integral part of the preparation which should not be omitted.
• Dry coating yields a more crispy crust then batter.
• Including corn flour in the flour mix yields a long-lasting crunchy crust.
• Add some baking powder to the coating mixture to make it airier.
• Add the lemon zest and lemon juice only after the sugar/corn flour mixture of the sauce is at room temperature. This method can ensure the sharp flavor and aroma of the lemon is not lost.
• Do not be ‘greedy’ when you zest the lemon. The sauce will become bitter even a small amount of pith (the white part of the peel) is present.
• Drizzle the sauce onto the chicken, not coating the sauce with the chicken in the wok, as this redundant step wet the chicken too much, will cause the chicken losing its crunchiness.
• Enhance the flavor and appearance with some cut scallion and roasted white sesame seeds.