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Easy lemon chicken

A sharing plate of lemon chicken

Easy lemon chicken

Name: Easy lemon chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts (around 400g each); ½ tbsp cornflour; ½ tsp white pepper; 950ml vegetable oil; 2 eggs; 150g plain flour; 75g cornflour; 1 tsp garlic salt or 1⁄2 tsp each of salt and garlic powder; 2 tsp garlic powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp Chinese red pepper powder; 2 lemons juiced (around 100ml); 2 tbsp sugar; 1½ tsp honey; 1 tsp cornflour

Shu Lin

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Serves 4 - 6

More effort

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 25 mins

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.19 ratingsRate

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Recreate a classic British Chinese takeaway dish for the home kitchen, with crispy fried chicken breast served with a fresh, tangy and moreish lemon sauce

Low fat

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

2 chicken breasts

(around 400g each)
½ tbsp cornflour
½ tsp white pepper
950ml vegetable oil

For the batter

2 eggs
150g plain flour
75g cornflour
1 tsp garlic salt

or 1⁄2 tsp each of salt and garlic powder
2 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp Chinese red pepper powder

For the lemon sauce

2 lemons

juiced (around 100ml)
2 tbsp sugar
1½ tsp honey
1 tsp cornflour

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Nutrition: Per serving (6)

kcal493
fat5g
saturates1g
carbs55g
sugars12g
fibre2g
protein55g
salt1.9g

Method

step 1

Slice the chicken breasts horizontally into two thin halves, then sprinkle over the cornflour, ½ tsp salt, the white pepper and ½ tbsp water, then leave to marinate for 20 mins.
step 2

Meanwhile, make the batter. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then set aside. In a second bowl, combine the plain flour, cornflour, garlic salt, garlic powder, bicarbonate of soda and red pepper powder, then tip half of the mixture into another bowl. Set one aside. Stir the whisked eggs into one bowl of the flour mixture with 3-5 tbsp cold water, adding 1 tbsp at a time. Mix well until it’s the consistency of double cream.
step 3

Coat one chicken breast in the batter until evenly covered, then coat in the flour mixture. Rub in the flour using your hands to ensure it’s completely coated. Repeat until all four halves of the chicken breasts have been coated.
step 4

Pour the vegetable oil into a medium saucepan (it should be no more than a third full) and heat over a medium-high heat until the oil reaches 160C or forms bubbles around a chopstick. Reduce the heat to medium and slowly lower the chicken breasts into the oil, in batches if your saucepan isn’t big enough to do them all at once, then fry for 5 mins, turning over halfway, until pale golden.
step 5

Let the chicken rest for 5 mins and heat the oil on high to 200C, then fry the chicken again for 30 seconds until it forms a deep golden crispy coating. Set aside to cool before cutting into even slices.
step 6

To make the sauce, combine the lemon juice, sugar and honey in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the cornflour with 1½ tsp water. Put a pan on a medium heat, tip in the lemon mixture and, once it starts to bubble, slowly add the cornflour mixture until it reaches your desired sauce consistency. Remove from the heat and serve drizzled over the chicken, or as a dipping sauce.

Recipe tip

To give this a spicy twist, add a teaspoon of red pepper powder to the lemon sauce.

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A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.19 ratings

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