Chinese Lemon Chicken
This scrumptious Chinese Lemon Chicken has an incredibly tasty and crispy coating, served with a delicious lemon sauce and is ready in just 30 minutes! This is a classic Chinese takeout recipe, but can be easily made at home!
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: chinese lemon chicken, lemon chicken
Servings: 6
Calories: 255kcal
Chicken
- 3 large chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Lemon Sauce
- 2 tablespoon butter unsalted
- ½ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup sugar granulated
- ⅔ cup chicken broth low sodium
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Garnish
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 lemon cut in wedges
Butterfly the chicken breasts: Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise (butterflied) to get two thinner pieces from each breast.
Prepare the dredge: Combine the eggs with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. In another bowl combine the ½ cup cornstarch with the flour and mix well.
Dredge the chicken: Dredge the chicken through the egg first, then through the flour mixture.
Fry chicken in batches: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet, as many as you can fit, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
Make the lemon sauce: Drain any leftover oil from the skillet. Add the butter to the skillet and melt. Add the lemon juice, sugar, chicken broth, ¼ tsp salt and 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Whisk everything well together and cook until the sauce has thickened and is smooth.
Finish the dish and serve: Slice the chicken into thin strips and pour lemon sauce over. Serve with rice.
- The lemon sauce that is served with lemon chicken in restaurants, usually is more yellow in color. If you'd like to achieve that neon yellow color, add 2 or 3 drops of yellow food coloring.
- After you fry the chicken, make sure you place a paper towel on the plate to soak up any extra oil and to leave the chicken nice and crispy.
- If you'd like your sauce thicker, add a bit more cornstarch to it, until desired consistency.
- Store leftover lemon chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze this in an airtight containers for up to 3 months! Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up in the oven, on the stove, or on the microwave.
Serving: 1chicken piece | Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 321mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg