Cook: Lemon Chicken

It's been a while since I posted a recipe on this blog!

While I was thinking about where I wanted to go with this blog, a couple of nice things happened. Specifically, a couple of nice people came up to me separately and told me that they had tried my recipes and liked them. I was very very encouraged. Thank you for trying my recipes! I've since decided to dedicate a bit more time and blog space to sharing more of my favourite recipes plus some other foodie joints which I like. I'm targeting to have this up every alternate Friday for my own version of Foodie Friday. Do check back in for that!

Today, I thought I would share a recipe for Lemon Chicken. I was cracking my head over what to cook for dinner one afternoon and suddenly thought of trying Lemon Chicken because I thought my kids would like it. I was right. It was a HUGE hit and has now entered our regular dinner rotation. This is the Chinese version Lemon Chicken that tastes great with rice but can also be eaten on its own. This recipe is based on the recipe in Easy Chinese Recipes by Bee Yinn Low. 

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

1 large boneless chicken breast, skin removed
1 large egg, beaten
Oil, deep frying
Lettuce, for garnish (optional)

For the Marinade: 

1½ tsp soya sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp Chinese rice wine

For Coating the Chicken:

¼ cup plain flour
¼ cup cornflour
1 tsp baking soda

For the Lemon Sauce:

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp plum sauce
2 tsp water
½ tsp corn flour
Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Cut the chicken breast into two equal pieces place in a shallow dish. Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour this over the chicken. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes.

2. Mix together the coating ingredients in another shallow dish and set aside.

3. Add all the ingredients for the lemon sauce into a saucepan. Heat the sauce pan over low heat and stir to mix well. Remove the saucepan from the heat once the sauce starts to bubble and boil.

4. When the chicken is done marinating, remove from the marinade sauce. Dip each piece in the egg then dip into the coating mix and cover the chicken evenly, shaking off the excess.

5. Heat oil in a saucepan, sufficient for deep-frying. When the oil starts to smoke, gently drop the chicken into the oil. Deep fry till golden brown.

6. Remove chicken from oil and place of paper towels to remove excess oil.

7. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and serve on a bed of lettuce. Drizzle with lemon sauce just before serving.

Cooking Notes:

♥ I usually serve up the chicken with the sauce on the size so everyone can drizzle on as much or as little as they like. 

♥ The sauce is deliciously tangy. If it's too sour for you, you can add up to ½ tsp of sugar to the sauce when simmering in the pan. Or like my Mei, just eat the chicken plain or with a squeeze of lemon juice over it.