Lemon chicken is a Chinese takeout favorite, and this recipe is basically my friend’s amazing sweet and sour chicken, but with lemon sauce instead of sweet and sour sauce. In this recipe the chicken is fried in a crispy breading made from cornstarch, but you could also used pan seared chicken breast instead if you don’t want to fry your chicken.
I prefer to use boneless chicken breasts for this. Chicken thighs are great braised or roasted in the oven, but I don’t like them for this recipe.
The lemon sauce used here is made from lemon juice, broth, lemon zest, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes and it is sooo delicious. It goes really well the with crunchy fried chicken. Serve lemon chicken with hot white rice and some lightly sauteed bok choy or broccoli for a full meal.
Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into bite sized cubes
- 1-2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- more cornstarch for dredging
- oil for frying
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup broth or water
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp sugar or honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 3 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and minced
- pinch red pepper flakes
- sliced scallions
- 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water to thicken sauce if needed
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Mix the chicken with the cornstarch and soy sauce so that it has a thinned peanut butter type thickness and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat pot of oil to 350 and coat a handful of pieces in cornstarch and fry until golden and cooked through. About 5 minutes. Repeat with the other chicken and allow pieces to drain on paper towels while cooking the rest.
For the sauce:
- Stir fry the ginger and garlic in a little oil for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients other than the cornstarch slurry and the scallions. If the sauce seems too thin, add a little of the cornstarch mixture to thicken it. Simmer for a few minutes then toss with the fried chicken and serve with rice and top with scallions.