CHINESE LEMON CHICKEN

As I am a big fan of Chinese food, This "LEMON CHICKEN“ is always a fulfilling culinary experience for me. It has the merit of being easy to prepare and not too demanding ingredients-wise.

This traditional Cantonese (Southeastern China) dish allies the subtle tangy sourness of lemon juice with the round and nutty taste of the deliciously crispy chicken nuggets. Like all Cantonese dishes, it is not hot nor too spicy, but succulently stir-fried...

You will discover that eating Chinese food at home is not mission impossible, because cooking dishes from this part of the world is not out of your reach! Once you’ve taken up making your own traditional Chinese specialities, you will not miss going to the restaurant as homemade Asian food can prove to be as fine as professionally prepared meals, if not even better!…

I’ve based this recipe on The Australian Women’s Weekly “Chinese Cooking Class” cookbook and adapted it according to my own gustative memories based on what I had eaten at the Chinese restaurant and in diverse “fast-foods”.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 Whole chicken breasts
1/2 Cup cornstarch
2 Tbs Water
1 Tbs Light soy sauce or oyster sauce
4 Egg yolks (~50g eggs)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
6 Green shallots (spring onions), chopped
Oil for deep-frying
Sauce:
150ml Lemon juice
3 1/2 Tbs Cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbs Sherry
3 Tbs Light runny honey
2 1/2 Tbs Light brown sugar
240ml Water
2 Cube chicken stock, crumbled
1 Tsp Ginger, finely grated
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cut the chicken breasts in strips. Reserve.
2. For the sauce, combine the lemon juice, cornstarch, sherry, honey, sugar, water, chicken stock and ginger together in a saucepan.
3. Stir over low heat until all the sugar has melted. Then let the sauce boil and thicken. Reserve.
4. Beat the egg yolks, soy sauce and two tablespoons water together. Put the cornstarch into a bowl, gradually add the egg mixture and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Heat up the oil.
6. Dip the chicken breast strips into the batter.
7. Put a few pieces of chicken into the hot oil and fry until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.
8. Keep warm in a moderate oven (~160°C/325°F) while frying the remaining chicken strips.
9. Arrange the chicken on a serving plate, spoon hot sauce over and sprinkle with the chopped green shallots.

Remarks:
Don’t overcook the sauce, otherwise it will lose all of it’s thickness.
Deep-fry the meat in batches.
If you wish, you could also use duck fillets or lean pork chops for this recipe.
Add the sauce just before serving, otherwise the crispy batter will soften.

Serving suggestions:
Eat this dish with Thai jasmine rice or long grain rice.

(Lemon Chicken -Pic by www.esampan.com)
(Lemon Chicken -Pic by Rosa www.rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com)
(Cantonese Garden -Pic by Lityuer Liao www.trekearth)