I love Chinese Lemon Chicken. It is slightly sweet but tastes very fresh. The addition of a little cayenne makes this recipe sing. Baking is a great idea if you are averse to frying, but I prefer the crispness of the fried.
This couldn’t have been easier. I love Lemon Chicken and this turns out just lovely.
Let’s Start Making Chinese Lemon Chicken
First off, I will show you the baked version. Both are good. If you want to get out of the kitchen quickly, the baked version is the one. The fried version is closer to the classic in restaurants.
Baked
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Chinese Lemon Chicken (Baked)
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Ingredients
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon water
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp if you like spicier
- peanut or other flavorless vegetable oil
- ½ lemon, cut into thin slices
- 1 green onion chopped, about 1 Tbls
CHINESE LEMON SAUCE
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cold water
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise. Mix egg white and water in a medium glass or plastic bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides and let stand 10 minutes.
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. Roll up a piece of paper towel and pour a tiny bit of oil on the foil-covered sheet pan. Use the rolled up paper to spread it around.
- Remove chicken from egg mixture; discard egg mixture. Mix flour, baking soda and red pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Add 1 chicken piece at a time. Seal bag; shake to coat chicken. Use a pastry brush to brush the surface of the chicken pieces with some oil.
- Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or they register 160 on an instant-read thermometer. While chicken is baking, prepare Chinese Lemon Sauce. Let chicken stand 5 minutes; slice each piece into 5 slices. Pour sauce over chicken. Garnish with lemon slices and green onion.
Chinese Lemon Sauce
- Heat all ingredients except cornstarch and cold water to boiling in 1-quart saucepan, stirring occasionally. Mix cornstarch and cold water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir about 30 seconds or until thickened. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
Fried
This is the fried version, which I really loved. I kept on eating little bits of the chicken as it came out of the fryer. The best set up for frying foods is to use a foil-lined sheet pan with a paper lined cake rack. If you have stackable cake racks, all the better. Clean up is easy.
Email Me the Recipe
Chinese Lemon Chicken (Fried)
If you purchase any of the products through these affiliate links, I get a few pennies that help keep The Good Plate open. I use these products myself and want you to be able to easily find them.
Ingredients
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon water
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp if you like spicier
- oil for deep frying
- ½ lemon, cut into thin slices
- 1 green onion chopped, about 1 Tbls
CHINESE LEMON SAUCE
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cold water
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise. Then cut those into strips about an inch. Mix egg white and water in a medium glass or plastic bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat all sides and let stand 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, pour oil into your pan, about 2/3 full. Heat the oil to 350.
- Remove chicken from egg mixture; discard egg mixture. Mix flour, baking soda and red pepper in a clean paper grocery bag. Add the chicken pieces and toss the chicken several times up and down to make sure every piece gets covered. Put about 5 or six pieces of the chicken in the hot oil and cook, turning once, until the surface is golden, but not brown. Remove and drain on paper. Continue to do this until all the pieces have been fried.
- Put the chicken in a nice serving dish and pour the sauce over, turning to coat. Garnish with green onions and thinly sliced lemon.
- Chinese Lemon Sauce: Heat all ingredients except cornstarch and cold water to boiling in saucepan, stirring occasionally. Mix cornstarch and cold water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir about 30 seconds or until thickened. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
- This meal is excellent with steamed broccoli.
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