Deep-Fried Lemon Chicken
Submitted by kellymadera
Crispy battered chicken strips with a tangy lemon sauce, tossed with colorful bell peppers. This Chinese-style deep fried lemon chicken is ready in one hour and rivals your favorite takeout.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsForget the delivery menu. This deep-fried lemon chicken brings the sizzle of a real Chinese kitchen right to your stovetop.
Boneless chicken breast strips get dipped in a light cornstarch batter, then fried to a shatteringly crisp golden shell. While they drain, you whip up a glossy, sweet-tart lemon sauce that clings to every piece without making the coating soggy.
Tossed with strips of red and green bell pepper, the final plate is as vibrant as it is satisfying. Serve it over steamed rice and let people drizzle the sauce at the table so the crunch stays alive.
Kitchen Tips
- Fry in small batches (about 5 pieces at a time) so the oil temperature stays high and the batter crisps instead of soaking up grease.
- Let excess batter drip off before lowering each strip into the oil. Thick clumps of batter turn gummy.
- Serve the sauce on the side. Pouring it directly over the chicken is tempting, but the coating goes soft within minutes.
- Use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled for a brighter, more aromatic sauce.
- Start your rice first so it finishes at the same time as the chicken.
Ingredients
Directions
the same time as the chicken. Wash and seed the peppers.
Cut each one into strips about 2x¼ inches.
Cut the boneless chicken breast into strips about 3x½ inches.
Prepare the batter by mixing in a bowl the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, water and oil.
Stir until smooth.
Cut half of the lemon into thin semicircular slices.
Prepare the lemon sauce by squeezing the juice from the other half of the lemon and combining in a cup with the sugar and water.
Stir well.
Combine about 1 teaspoon cornstarch and about 2 teaspoon water in a second cup.
This mixture will be used later to thicken the lemon sauce.
Dip each piece of chicken in the batter and let the excess drip back into the bowl.
Deep fry the chicken in small batches.
It is best to use an electric deep fryer, but if this is not available, heat about 1 quart of vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan until it is very hot.
Then add about 5 pieces of chicken at a time to the oil and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes or until a golden brown crust forms.
Check once a minute to see if the pieces are sticking together, and if so, separate them.
After each batch is finished, set aside on a paper towel to drain off the excess oil.
Cook the lemon sauce by pouring the lemon-sugar mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add the cornstarch-water mixture and stir until thickened.
To please the eye as well as the palate, mix up the chicken and colored pepper pieces and pile on a plate.
Top with sprigs of parsley and place the lemon slices around the outside of the plate.
Put the hot lemon sauce in a cup so that people can pour it over their chicken just before eating, to keep it crispy.
Serve with rice.
Don’t forget to start the rice so that it will be done at the same time as the chicken.
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