Recipe: Chinese Lemon Chicken

every time i went to the supermarket for my monthly grocery trip, lemon is something i can't resist buying. thinking i'll make something (food) out of it but without fail it always ended up as lemonade drink! :P

so while browsing thru some recipe blogs for some ideas, i found this highly reviewed recipe from here. it sounds & looks simple enough so i tried.

here's the  original recipe & the writing in orange is my variation. *cooked this dish with my eager assistant cook~Laith. ;P

Ingredients:
 
2 1/2lbs boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” cubes)
 
Marinade
 
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
 
Batter
 
2 large eggs
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch white pepper
oil (for frying)
 
Sauce
 
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chicken broth (i used chicken stock + water instead)
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice (half a lemon equals to 2 tablespoon)
¾ teaspoon salt
3 slices of lemon (peeled) (the remaining half of the lemon equals 3 slices)
2 tablespoons oil
yellow food coloring (optional)  (i went au naturel)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place cut chicken breast pieces into a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (i had less than 1 hour to prepare the dish, half hour in the fridge was not a problem)

Step 2: To make the batter – beat 2 large eggs with ¼ cup of cornstarch, a pinch of white pepper and baking powder.  Coat the chicken with the batter.

Step 3: Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees and deep-fry in batches until chicken is fully cooked. Drain on paper towels and set aside. You can also cook the chicken using a wok if you don’t have a deep fryer. (i didn't have a deep fryer, so wok was the answer) 


Step 4: Now, to make the lemon sauce – combine 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup chicken broth (chicken stock & water) , 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon salt (if using food coloring you can add it now). Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.

Step 5: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your wok and stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear. Remove lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix. Best served with rice and broccoli. & dish ready to be served. unfortunately broccoli was not in the menus yesterday but it tasted good regardless.

well they don't look as presentable as the original recipe pix but it was yummy all the same & everyone loves it. 

this recipe is definitely a keeper.  

Happy cooking!!! :D