Lemon chicken is one of my favourite takeout dishes and it’s pretty easy to make at home! I sometimes avoid deep frying because it takes a bit of effort and this recipe fries the chicken in a few tablespoons of oil in the pan so it’s much easier! The crispy coating is made with a simple combination of an egg and cornstarch, which creates a wet batter, that fries up crispy in the oil. The rest of the recipe is the lemon sauce which is as easy to make as mixing all of the ingredients and heating them in the pan to thicken it up. All said and done, it takes about 20 minutes to make this crispy lemon chicken so you can steam some rice while you are making it! If you like, you can also saute some veggies, such as, snap peas, diced peppers, etc., in the pan after the chicken!
Crispy Lemon Chicken
Quick and easy crispy chicken in a light and tasty lemon sauce!
ingredients
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil (peanut or vegetable)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated
- 2 tablespoons honey (or sugar)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce* (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced/grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced/grated
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 green onions, sliced
directions
- Mix the chicken into the egg until fully coated before mixing in the cornstarch until just evenly coated.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken, separate, and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side, before setting aside, reserving the leftover oil in the pan.
- Add the mixture of the chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and cornstarch, to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens, about a minute, before tossing with the chicken.
- Add green onions and enjoy!
Note: Using soy sauce will make the sauce darker. If you want a lighter yellow colour, use salt to taste instead of the soy sauce.
Option: Omit the red pepper flakes for no spicy heat; use more for more heat; use less for less heat.
Option: Replace the red pepper flakes with a chili sauce such as sambal oelek or sriracha.
Option: Add a vegetable, such as diced bell pepper, snap peas, etc., along with the chicken.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon sesame oil, at the end.
Option: Add 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, at the end.
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Just did the lemon chicken. Great hit with my family. So easy to prepare. Will do it again.
Thanks
This is great! And super easy too
Do you have Healthy Recipes, low carb, low cholesterol,
low sugar?
The pictures show sesame seeds in this dish, but they are not included in the ingredients or the instructions. At what point do you add them, and how much?
Thanks
I like to garnish this with 1-2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds! I have added them to the options section below the recipe!