Honey Lemon Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Crispy fried chicken coated in a tangy sweet lemony sauce.
Author: Yvonne Oh
Recipe type: Chicken Recipes
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts / thighs – cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- 1 egg – beaten
- Cooking oil
For Marinade
- 3/4 tbsp light soy sauce (Angel Brand Light Soy Sauce, Premium, 9.2 Ounce)
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine (Shaohsing (shaoxing) Rice Cooking Wine 750ml)
- ½ tsp sesame oil (Kadoya Pure Sesame Oil, 11 Fluid Ounce)
- ¼ tsp salt
For Coating
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup corn flour
- ¾ tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
For Sauce
- 1/2 cup of water
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- Sugar to taste
Slurry
- 3/4 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tbsp water
Garnish
- Lemon zest
- Chopped spring onions
Instructions
- Marinade the chicken pieces for about 30 minutes.
- Mix the ingredients for the coating and sift. Set aside.
- Prepare sauce. Add all ingredients for sauce (except honey) and mix well in a saucepan. Stir and bring it to a boil. Lower heat, add honey, stir and do a quick taste. Add more sugar if it is too sour. Slowly pour in cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce to your preferred consistency.
- To fry, dip the chicken pieces into the beaten egg first before coating with the mixed flour. Shake off excess flour.
- Heat up oil in a wok or dutch oven (till 180°C). Carefully add the chicken pieces into the dutch oven. Do this one at a time to prevent the chicken pieces from sticking and in 2 batches. Deep-fry till golden brown. Let the oil heat up again before putting in the next batch. Don’t overcook the chicken pieces or the meat will be tough. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Pour lemon sauce over the chicken and coat well just before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with spring onions and lemon zest. Best to serve immediately.
Cooking Notes
Use a cooking thermometer to check for the readiness of the oil before deep frying. It should be between 350 °F (177 °C) and 375 °F (191 °C). If you don't have a cooking thermometer, test with a wooden chopstick or spoon. Dip it into the pre-heated oil. If the oil starts to bubble steadily around the chopstick/spoon, it is hot enough for frying. If there is very few bubbles, it is not hot enough.
Recipe by Souper Diaries at https://souperdiaries.com/honey-lemon-chicken-recipe/