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.
Cook’s Tips
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.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 280 calories per serving.
What Dishes 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.
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Lemon Chicken Recipe
Lemon chicken recipe – Crispy fried chicken with zesty and citrusy lemon sauce. Healthy, delicious, quick, and easy recipe to make at home.
Ingredients
- 10 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast/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 corn starch
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar or more to taste
- 5 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 pinch salt or to taste
Directions
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1Marinate the chicken with the Marinade, for 30 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce. Set aside.
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2Coat the marinated chicken with the corn starch and all-purpose flour mixture. Heat up a wok with about two inches of oil. As soon as the oil is fully heated, deep-fry the chicken until golden brown. Transfer the chicken out to a dish lined with paper towels to sock up the excess oil.
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3Add all the ingredients in the Sauce into a small sauce pan and bring it to a quick boil. Transfer the fried chicken into the sauce, stir to coat well with the lemon sauce.
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4Dish out, top with the white sesame, and serve immediately.
Recipe Video
Ashwinie
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!
Jeremy
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!
Rasa Malaysia
Awww Jeremy, thanks so much for being so supportive. Your comment made my day! Please keep cooking and stay safe and healthy! :)
Yeh Ximin
Libby
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.
Nicholas Herriman
Better than KFC!
Rasa Malaysia
Aww thanks, but I agree. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Jessica Potter
Delicious recipe! So easy to make.
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome!
Jean
This lemon chicken is seriously so good I love it so much!
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Jean for trying my recipe, please check out more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Carl Melnyk
Even the carnivores liked it, pets etc
Mak teh
Terima kasih for the recipe
Dee
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!!!!
Lizzy
Absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe :-)
hippytea
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.