There are many delicious dishes that line the menu of numerous Chinese restaurants, with it ranging from saucy rice meals to soup-filled noodle bowls. This variety of choices makes sure everyone can have a meal that suits their preference, and that no one is left out in the feast. Fried chicken and its variations are among the crowd favorite.
With a crisp skin that is the result of double frying, a fluffy and juicy center from the chicken being cooked to perfection, and a savory-tangy sauce coating all that crunchy goodness–this lemon chicken is a union of pleasant textures and delectable flavors.
Chinese Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 500 g. chicken breast fillet, sliced
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 pack Maggi Magic Sarap
- Black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. Chinese rice wine
- 1 pc. egg white
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- Water, to adjust
- Oil, for frying
For the Sauce Mixture:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 whole lemon, juiced
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Maggi Magic Sarap
- 6 Tbsps. white sugar
- 1 Tbsp. potato starch
For the Sauce:
- Oil, for sautéing
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Sauce mixture
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 Tbsps. butter
Garnish:
- Lemon slices
- Chopped parsley
Instructions
- Butterfly the chicken breasts, open it up, and slice it into thin pieces.
- Marinate the chicken. In a bowl with the chicken, add the soy sauce, Maggi Magic Sarap, black pepper, Chinese rice wine, egg white, potato starch, and water. Mix, then set aside. The chicken can be left to marinate in the chiller overnight, so it can be ready for the next day.
- Prepare the sauce. In a bowl, mix together water, lemon zest and juice, soy sauce, Maggi Magic Sarap, sugar, and potato starch. Set aside. This can be made a day before.
- In a pan, heat the oil. Sauté the garlic. Make sure not to toast it. Add the premixed sauce. Keep on stirring until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and add the butter. Taste to make sure it is seasoned to your preference. Set aside.
- In a pot, heat the oil. Fan the chicken out and add it in piece by piece. Make sure to place the chicken away from each other, so they don’t stick together. Make sure not to overcrowd your pan.
- Fry the chicken until it is golden and crisp. The chicken is cooked once it begins to float in the oil. Once cooked, remove it from the pan and place it in a colander to strain the excess oil.
- Before frying the next batch, let the oil recover its temperature. Once the temperature has recovered, only then can you start frying the second batch of chicken.
- When the second batch of chicken is done frying, remove it from the pan. Make sure to transfer the first batch of chicken out of the colander and onto a plate before placing the second batch in.
- Make sure the hot is very hot again before starting to refry the chicken. Once it has reached a high temperature, double fry the first batch of chicken to make it crispier and achieve a nicer color. When the first batch of chicken has finished its second fry, remove it from the pan then double fry the second batch of chicken.
- Arrange all the chicken on a plate. Make sure to allow the chicken to cool before you drizzle the sauce all over them. Garnish with lemon and parsley.
Make this delicious Chinese dish for you and your family to enjoy. Different from the plain fried chicken, and with an interesting blend of flavors to make the sauce, this recipe will surely be a welcome change and will introduce everyone to an enticing new set of flavors.
For more simple and easy recipes, grab copies of our Simpol Cookbook collection on Shopee or Lazada. Also available in Fully Booked and National Book Store.
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