How to Prepare Chinese Chicken Lemon

Basically, Chinese lemon chicken is fried chicken in a deliciously sticky, sweet, and tangy lemon sauce. This chicken recipe with crispy, golden brown chicken tenders is simple to create at home and can be done in just thirty minutes.

Chinese Lemon Chicken is a favorite all around the world because of its texture and irresistible flavor found in each bite. Following this recipe allows you to get the perfect balance of the tangy flavor and the crunchy chicken breast pieces, which is hard to find in take-out Chinese chicken lemon.

Using chicken tenders in this Chinese chicken lemon recipe will allow you to come up with deliciously juicy chicken pieces.

How to make lemon chicken batter

To make the chicken lemon batter, whisk an egg with soy sauce and Chinese Shaoxing wine. If your grocery can not find that specific wine, you can substitute sherry or white vinegar. After whisking, cut the chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces and coat them well in the batter.

You can marinate the chicken pieces for 20 to 30 minutes for a richer flavor or for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.

How to make the lemon sauce

To make the lemon sauce add oil to your pan then add onions and ginger. Sauté your garlic and ginger in the oil until fragrant then add the chicken stock, soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, honey, and a pinch of salt. Due to the honey, the sauce will start to thicken beautifully. If you will want it to be a little bit thicker, pour some cornstarch slurry into the mixture in the pan.  After frying your chicken pieces, this is the lemon sauce you will pour over the pieces to coat them completely.

Ingredients

For the chicken:

500g chicken tenderloins cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large egg

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese Shaoxing wine or white vinegar

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the lemon sauce:

1 tablespoon oil

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced or finely grated ginger

1/2 cup chicken stock or broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon sesame seeds to garnish

Thinly sliced green onions to garnish

Salt to taste

Lemon slices, to serve (optional)

Procedures

For the chicken, combine the egg, soy sauce, and wine in a sizable shallow bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix them thoroughly with the butter before you marinate for 20 minutes.

Place cornstarch in a sizable baking pan and pour the chicken and marinade into the cornstarch. Coat the meat evenly while lightly pressing the cornstarch around the chicken pieces.

In a large deep pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Shake off excess cornstarch from the chicken and deep fry each chicken piece, you can fry the chicken pieces in batches. As you fry the chicken pieces, rotate them halfway through cooked through and well browned.

Place the chicken pieces on a plate covered with paper towels to drain excess oil. Throw away the oil and use a paper towel to dry the wok or pan.

Heat oil over medium-high heat and sauté the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the stock, soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, honey, and a pinch of salt then whisk and bring to a simmer until the sugar dissolves.

Whisk corn starch mixture into the simmering sauce and stir until thickened. Toss chicken in the sauce until evenly coated (about 2 minutes).

Garnish with sesame seeds, green onions, and lemon slices.

Serve and enjoy.