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Lemon Chicken- easy and crispy chicken with tangy, sticky and sweet lemon sauce. This Chinese lemon chicken recipe is much better than takeouts and takes 20 minutes to make.
Lemon Chicken Recipe
Chinese lemon chicken is my favorite chicken recipes and I make it at home frequently.
I love the taste of the dish, with chicken pieces deep fried to golden brown in a light, refreshing, and addictive lemon sauce. It’s delicious!
In my cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes,” there is a similar recipe, but that version is mostly found in Chinese restaurants here in the US.
This is an easy and healthy recipe takes 20 minutes from start to finish and I will teach you how to make it.
The Lemon Chicken Batter
To make crispy chicken, use a basic combination of all-purpose flour and corn starch.
This will ensure that the chicken remains crispy even when the lemon sauce is added to the chicken.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast
- Corn starch
- All-purpose flour
- Oil
- Soy sauce
- Shaoxing wine
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
- Water
- Salt
- White sesame
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1. Marinate the chicken with the Marinade for 30 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce and set aside.
Step 2. Coat the marinated chicken with the corn starch and all-purpose flour mixture. Heat a wok with about two inches of oil. Once the oil is fully heated, deep-fry the chicken until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a dish lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
Step 3. Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a small saucepan and bring it to a quick boil. Transfer the fried chicken to the sauce and stir to coat it well.
Step 4. Dish out, top with white sesame, and serve immediately.
Cooking Tips For Home Cooks
The lemon sauce for chicken should just lightly coat the chicken pieces so that every bite of is complete with a crunchy texture, perfected with a sweet, aromatic, and tart flavor from the lemony sauce.
I also like topping the chicken with some white sesame seeds, as they immediately dress up the chicken with a nice presentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 280 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
As with most Chinese food recipes, this chicken is just perfect with some warm and fluffy steamed white rice.
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 oz (280g) skinless, boneless chicken breast, or thigh, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup cornstarch, sifted and combine well
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- oil, for deep-frying
- 1/2 teaspoon white sesame
Marinade:
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar , or more to taste
- 5 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 pinch salt , or to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with the Marinade for 30 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce and set aside.
- Coat the marinated chicken with the corn starch and all-purpose flour mixture. Heat a wok with about two inches of oil. Once the oil is fully heated, deep-fry the chicken until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a dish lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a small saucepan and bring it to a quick boil. Transfer the fried chicken to the sauce and stir to coat it well..
- Dish out, top with white sesame, and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- To make crispy chicken, use a basic combination of all-purpose flour and corn starch.
- The lemon sauce for chicken should just lightly coat the chicken pieces so that every bite of is complete with a crunchy texture, perfected with a sweet, aromatic, and tart flavor from the lemony sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I didn’t have the shaoxing wine and sesame seeds but it still turned out so tasty! I also used an air fryer at first. Great recipe!
Sooo…
If you have not tried Rasa Malaysia’s recipes, you need too. This recipe is a favorite at our house. Tonight, my son who is a very picky eater, tried it for the first time. He then ate nearly all the meal. The quality of the meal that Rasa prepares in the recipe is always healthy and delicious. We prepare meals each week using her recipes, and they are just as she described them. Follow the recipe and don’t modify; you don’t have to. We have done so now for probably four years. Beyond the lemon chicken, I must say her scallion and beef recipe is fantastic. Not to say any others don’t deserve credit, but my wife asks for that meal seriously every week. Rasa, thank you for the recipes. You are truly one of the best chefs on the web!
Awww Jeremy, thanks so much for being so supportive. Your comment made my day! Please keep cooking and stay safe and healthy! :)
So easy and DELICIOUS. A new family favourite. Making again tonight (looks like it’ll be once a week for a while, by request from my kids). Definitely writing this one down in my recipe scrap book. YUM.
Better than KFC!
Aww thanks, but I agree. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Delicious recipe! So easy to make.
Awesome!
This lemon chicken is seriously so good I love it so much!
Thanks Jean for trying my recipe, please check out more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Even the carnivores liked it, pets etc
Terima kasih for the recipe
This was wonderful – my son has severe food allergies (allergy to wheat/gluten, egg, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, coconut, and all legumes!) so finding really flavorful foods is hard and with soy being out of our kitchen we really miss that umami flavor that we get in a lot of Asian dishes. I had some chicken thigh and lemon on hand and happened to find this and it was SO EASY and adapted so well to the substitutions we had to make (we substituted Cup-4-Cup Gluten Free Flour blend for the all-purpose, and I just used salted water in place of soy sauce – not the same, but it worked!) and everyone gobbled it up. THANK YOU!!!!
Absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe :-)
Excellent recipe, really easy and better than the takeaway versions I’ve tried – really pleased, I’ll be keeping a copy of this one! Only sad thing is I didn’t have any sesame seeds, I’ll definitely add them next time. Everyone enjoyed this as a special dinner without having to pay or wait for a delivery.