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This lightly breaded and lemony homemade version of Chinese Lemon Chicken is as good, if not better, than the restaurant version.
Better than Take Out
We love Chinese food at our house and since we don’t have a good Chinese restaurant close by where I can get take out I have to make my own!
One of our favorite Chinese take out meals is Mongolian Beef, it was one of my top posts from last year and if you haven’t tried it you really should. Another favorite Chinese take out meal is today’s recipe for lemon chicken.
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Tips for Making Chinese Lemon Chicken
- Prepare Chicken. Filet your chicken breasts (cut them in half horizontally) and then pound between two pieces of wax paper to create a thinner chicken breast. It will cook quicker and more evenly.
- Breading The breading is a combination of egg and cornstarch so it is light and crispy, not heavy like some breading can be.
- Pan. You do not need to use a wok to make great Chinese food. I used my cast iron skillet for this recipe. Just make sure you have about an inch of oil in the pan.
- Use a thermometer to monitor your oil temperature. You want to keep a temperature of 350-375 degrees F.
How to Make Chinese Lemon Chicken
- Combine cornstarch, salt and pepper into a bowl and add in water and egg yolks
- Heat oil in wok or frying pan. Heat oil to about 375 degrees
- Dip filleted and pounded chicken into cornstarch mixture, covering both sides lightly
- Fry chicken in oil until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes
- Drain on paper towel
- Keep warm while you finish cooking chicken
Lemon Sauce
- Prepare lemon sauce prior to cooking the chicken.
- Combine all ingredients in saucepan and stir until well blended
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce boils and thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Pour over chicken
How to Serve Lemon Chicken
Add a garnish of chopped green onions, a few lemon slices and a bed of rice and you have a pretty and delicious meal! Just as good as any Chinese take out.
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Chinese Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 egg yolks slightly beaten
- vegetable oil for frying about 3 cups
- 4 green onions sliced
Lemon Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp minced ginger
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts in half and gently pound to flatten
- Combine cornstarch, salt and pepper into a bowl and add in water and egg yolks
- Head oil in wok or frying pan (I used my cast iron skillet) Heat oil to about 375 degrees
- Dip chicken into cornstarch mixture, covering both sides lightly
- Fry chicken in oil until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes
- Drain on paper towel
- Keep warm while you finish cooking chicken
- Cut each piece of chicken into serving pieces and place on serving platter
- Cover with sauce and sprinkle with chopped green onion
To make lemon sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in saucepan and stir until well blended
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce boils and thickens
- About 5 minutes
- Pour over chicken
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D says
Hello.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks great. Do you think that I could substitute chicken broth for the 1 1/2 cup water and bouillon?
Thank you:)
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
Absolutely – enjoy!
Jessica Pinter says
OMG, can I say thank you SO SO SO SO much for just having a user-friendly recipe for me to print.
Some of the pages i have been too in the last 20 minutes have made me want to order take out
Leigh Anne says
Jessica, Hope you enjoy the recipe!
christine folkman says
I made this last weekend. It was delicious. My husband said it was one of the best chicken recipes I’ve made. (And I’ve made a LOT of chicken over the year.) LOL
Leigh Anne says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Fred says
This looks wonderful. Even though it’s meant for New Year’s it would be a perfect hot summer night dish, as well. It sounds plenty tangy with 1/2 cup of lemon and that’s the way I like it. Many lemon foods aren’t lemony enough for me. – frederick sallaz