Chinese Lemon Chicken DIY Recipe (Step-by-Step with Photos)

My mom was asking me the other day why I’ve been choosing to cook really random recipes (Ratatouille, Truffle Mushroom Risotto Rice, Homemade Pesto Pasta, Korean Soft Tofu Stew, and Takoyaki – to name a few). To be fair, I hadn’t thought they were weird… but decided that this week I’d go back to Chinese classics to appease my mom. Well, what’s more classic than Chinese Lemon Chicken?

That was a rhetorical question. I know there are tons of Chinese dishes that are more classic… but I’ve been craving for Chinese Lemon Chicken, so sue me. Having said that, quick disclaimer – my Chinese Lemon Chicken recipe was lifted from American chefs so they won’t taste like those you’d find at Causeway (which makes my FAVE Chinese Lemon Chicken), to my eternal despair. Instead, it’ll taste more like the Chinese Lemon Chicken you’d find in the US or Europe… so consider this a bastardized version, I suppose. To be fair, all Chinese food that’s been tweaked by the locals are all bastardized.

Anyway, it was still really delicious. It just didn’t look like and taste like what I was hoping it would taste like LOL

(Edited on December 2) I HAVE FOUND THE LEMON CHICKEN SAUCE – the legit Pinoy version. I’ll update the below recipe accordingly, but I’ll keep two sauces:

• Pinoy bastardized version
• US bastardized version

Personally, I much prefer the Pinoy bastardized version because (1) the sauce is sweet!!!!, and (2) it’s actually easier to do since you don’t have to cook the chicken with the sauce anymore. Instead, you simply drizzle.

 

DELECTABLE DISH FOR THE DAY: CHINESE LEMON CHICKEN

DIFFICULTY: Medium – it’s actually quite easy but requires deep-frying, which I hate

SERVING SIZE: Good for 5 people (on its own!)

PREPARATION TIME: 1.5 hours

 

INGREDIENTS FOR CHINESE LEMON CHICKEN

• 600g chicken breast, sliced into chicken strips

 

Marinade & Batter

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee): this enhances the flavor of the chicken
• 1 tbsp Chinese shaoxing wine
• 1 egg white, lightly whisked: adds flavor and prevents the meat from drying out
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1g salt: this ensures all parts of the chicken will have flavor, even if the lemon sauce isn’t drizzled over all the chicken

 

Lemon Sauce (Pinoy bastardized version)

• 200 ml water
• 4 tbsp honey
• 5 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (juice of about 2 lemons)
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tsp corn starch (you can add more if you like your sauce thicker)

 

Lemon Sauce (USA bastardized version)

• ½ cup chicken stock
• 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (juice of about 2 lemons)
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tbsp water
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tsp ginger, finely grated

 

Others

• 2-3 lemon slices (for garnish)

 

STEP BY STEP PROCESS TO COOK CHINESE LEMON CHICKEN

STEP 1: Prepare the chicken

• Defrost the chicken by transferring it to the refrigerator overnight

• Cut up the chicken into strips, paying careful attention to removing the tough cartilage bits, if any

STEP 2: Marinade the chicken

• In a large bowl, place the chicken strips, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp Chinese shaoxing wine, 1 lightly whisked egg white, and 1g salt together
• Use your hands to mix thoroughly. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes or more (I actually left it for 4 hours)

STEP 3: Prepare the lemon sauce and toppings

PINOY BASTARDIZED VERSION

• Place the 5 tsp sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch and 200ml water in a small saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat, and stir.

• Once sugar is fully dissolved and the sauce has thickened and turned translucent, turn off the heat and set aside until the sauce returns to room temperature
• Once the sauce has reached room temperature, add the 4 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp lemon juice and lemon zest to the sauce and mix well

US BASTARDIZED VERSION

• In a separate bowl, mix together the 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce and 3 tbsp sugar.

• Grate the lemon skin for lemon zest, then juice two lemons to generate roughly 3 tbsp lemon juice. Mix the lemon zest and juice, but keep separate from the other sauces as if you mix it too early, the lemon juice will dissipate too fast, which is something we want to avoid.

 

• Lastly, dissolve 2 tsp cornstarch into 2 tbsp water. We’ll use this to thicken the sauce later.

STEP 4: Cook the chicken

• Place 1 cup of flour (less or more depending on what you need) in a large tray. Add the marinated chicken pieces including all the remaining marinade onto the flour-filled tray.
• Use your hands to pat and press the liquid and flour together around the chicken pieces to form a craggy coating. This will create that crispy coating without need to use a butter

• Prepare your oil for deep-frying (typically 165 deg C). Shake the excess flour from the chicken pieces then deep-fry for about ~3 minutes each or until it’s golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper afterwards

STEP 5A: Create lemon chicken (Pinoy bastardized version)

• Drizzle the lemon sauce over the deep-fried chicken. You don’t cook it in the sauce as you want to retain the “crunch” of your chicken

STEP 5B: Create lemon chicken (USA bastardized version)

• Finely mince 2 cloves of garlic and grate some ginger

• In a pan over medium-high heat, add oil and then add the garlic and ginger. Cook for about 10 seconds or until you smell the fragrant garlic and ginger mix.
• Afterwards, add the chicken stock-light soy sauce-sugar mixture. Mix for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has fully dissolved.

• Afterwards, add the lemon juice and zest mixture, then leave simmering for another 30 seconds

• Finally, add the cornstarch mixture for thickening the sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds or until sauce has thickened slightly

• Lastly, add the chicken pieces and make sure to mix carefully so the all the chicken strips are evenly coated with the sauce. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds and spring onion. Garnish with lemon slices if using.

STEP 6: Bon Appetit!