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Lemon chicken bites Chinese-style

Lemon chicken is a very popular Chinese dish all over the world. This version is double-fried so it's soft inside, crispy on the outside, which then gets coated in a zesty lemon syrup. You can have this dish as part of a Chinese menu or as nibbles at parties.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g chicken breast fillets
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
  • 3 tsp corn starch cornflour
  • Extra cornstarch cornflour
  • Groundnut peanut oil for frying
  • For the sticky lemon sauce:
  • 80 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp cornstarch corn flour
  • 1 Tbsp extra water
  • To serve:
  • 1 bunch of spring onions sliced

Method
 

  1. Cut the chicken breasts into 1cm thick slices. Mix the egg yolk, water, flour, rice wine and soy sauce. Pour this mixture over the chicken strips and marinate for 15 minutes.
  2. Put some cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Roll each chicken strip in it until evenly coated. Place them onto a plate next to each other.
  3. Heat an inch of oil in a hot wok. When it's hot (and starts to smoke), fry the chicken bits in batches until they change color, then drain them on paper kitchen towels. Let them rest whilst you prepare the lemon sauce.
  4. In a saucepan mix the lemon juice, sugar and rice wine, then cook and stir until the sugar melts. Mix the extra water with the cornstarch and add to the syrup. Bring to the boil and stir for 1-2 minutes until you get a thick, smooth syrup. Turn off the heat and keep warm.
  5. Pour away the oil from the wok and wipe it clean. Heat it up again, and, when hot, pour in fresh oil and heat to smoking point. Stir-fry the chicken strips again (in batches) for about 2 minutes until crispy and brown. Drain on paper towels.
  6. Serve in a large bowl - pour over the lemon syrup and garnish with the spring onion slices.