This delicious Chinese lemon chicken is super crispy, with a tangy, tart and sweet lemon sauce. A quick and easy recipe that’s perfect for any day!
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We’re already on the letter L for the Alphabet Weekly Dish Challenge, and of course I’d have to make it on this crispy Lemon Chicken.
Chicken Dinner Recipes
Back in Malaysia, whenever my family and I go out for dinner at Chinese restaurants, lemon chicken is a must. It almost always suits everyones taste, including my nieces and nephews! And whenever the children enjoy their food, it’s a win in my book.
Although in the Western food world it’s not as popular as its sister dish, orange chicken, it definitely will give you a run for its money.
Easy Lemon Chicken Recipe
The dish is essentially marinated diced chicken that’s dredged in a simple mix of flour, corn starch and eggs, before fried until it turns beautifully golden. It’s then coated with a mouthwatering lemon sauce.
And tada! The best lemon chicken that’s a perfect combination of tangy, tart and sweet. Double fry the chicken to make it extra crispy! It’s so good, and actually really easy to make once you’ve got all your ingredients in order.
With how fast you’ll get this delicious dish plated, you’ll definitely want to keep it in your dinner rotation.
Ingredients You’ll Need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
Chicken
- Boneless chicken thigh/breast: You can use either chicken breast or thighs for this as long as it’s boneless. I prefer chicken thighs.
- Light soy sauce
- Rice vinegar/apple cider vinegar
- Corn starch
- Flour
- Eggs
Lemon sauce
- Chicken broth/water
- Honey
- Sugar
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Corn starch
- Lemon zest
How To Make Chinese Crispy Lemon Chicken
Chicken
- Diced up chicken and marinate with light soy sauce and vinegar. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.
- Break two eggs into the same bowl and mix well. Add in the flour and corn starch. Mix until you reach a thick paste consistency and there are no lumps (see notes)
- Heat up neutral in a cooking pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough, add the chicken and fry until golden brown (see notes)
- Fry in batches and drain on a paper towel.
Lemon Sauce
- Mix all the sauce ingredient in a bowl except for the ginger, garlic and lemon zest.
- In a cooking pot, sauté ginger and garlic in 1 tbsp of oil until fragrant.
- Pour in the sauce and add lemon zest.
- Let the sauce continue cooking for at least 1-2 minutes or until the sauce turns glossy and thickens.
- Turn off heat and add the chicken. Coat each chicken with the sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and lemon slices. Enjoy!
Notes For Chinese Crispy Lemon Chicken
- Chicken batter: You can always make the chicken batter in a separate bowl and add the marinated chicken after. I always prefer easy cooking with minimal clean up so I like to add everything in one bowl.
- Mix using hands: Once the flour is added, it will be hard to mix with a spoon. I like mixing it with my hands. Make sure to mix it well so there are no lumps. The batter should be a thick paste consistency. If it’s too dry, add a splash of water.
- Double frying: You can double fry to get crispy chicken. If you are double frying– remove the chicken before it turns golden, then add it back to the oil after a few minutes and fry until golden brown.
- Crispy chicken: The (not so) secret to making it super crispy is by using cornstarch in your chicken batter and double frying. That will give you that satisfying crunch when biting into the chicken. 😋
More Chicken Recipes
- Garlic Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Bawang Putih)
- Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) – No Mirin or Sake
- Cheesy Korean Fried Chicken
- Fried Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Goreng Kunyit)
- Malaysian Creamy Butter Chicken
- Easy Chicken Teriyaki (No Mirin and Sake)
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Chinese Crispy Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 lb boneless chicken thigh/breast see notes
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar/apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs
Lemon sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth/water
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ginger finely minced/grated
- 1 tsp garlic finely minced/grated
- 1.5 tbsp corn starch
- lemon zest
Instructions
Chicken
- Diced up chicken and marinate with light soy sauce and vinegar. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.
- Break two eggs into the same bowl and mix well. Add in the flour and corn starch. Mix until you reach a thick paste consistency and there are no lumps (see notes)
- Heat up neutral in a cooking pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough, add the chicken and fry until golden brown (see notes)
- Fry in batches and drain on a paper towel.
Lemon Sauce
- Mix all the sauce ingredient in a bowl except for the ginger, garlic and lemon zest.
- In a cooking pot, sauté ginger and garlic in 1 tbsp of oil until fragrant.
- Pour in the sauce and add lemon zest.
- Let the sauce continue cooking for at least 1-2 minutes or until the sauce turns glossy and thickens.
- Turn off heat and add the chicken. Coat each chicken with the sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and lemon slices. Enjoy!
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