Lemon Chicken

I rarely have all the ingredients so I have my substitutions and I think it still tastes pretty good. I had the math department over for Chinese food last week and the lemon chicken was the first to disappear.


The recipe comes for the book The Food of China by Jason Lowe, Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds. I highly recommend this book if you like Chinese food.


The marinade:
1 lb (500 grams) skinned boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine*
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger*
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Cut the chicken into slices. Place in a bowl and add the marinade and toss lightly. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Note: I rarely have rice wine so I use a little rice vinegar and white wine. I also have found that this thick sweet soy something I have called KECAP MANIS (also says rasa mantaap) is a great substitute for the soy sauce. And I use more than one tablespoon of chopped ginger.

Lemon Sauce:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sesame seed oil
3 tablespoons chicken stock or water
½ teaspoon cornstarch

Combine the above to make the lemon sauce.


1 egg lightly beaten
¾ cup cornstarch
oil for deep frying

Add the egg to the chicken mixture and toss lightly to coat. Drain any excess egg and coat the chicken pieces with the cornstarch.

Fill a wok one quarter full of oil and heat to 375 F or 190C. (I use less oil and turn the chicken as it is frying, if you use a lot then you just keep stirring the chicken while it is frying) Add half the chicken (if you have room) one piece at a time and fry for about 2 minutes on both sides. Remove with wire strainer (or chopsticks) and drain. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Drain the oil and reheat the wok over medium heat. Add the lemon sauce and stir constantly until thickened. Add the chicken and toss lightly in the sauce.