This Chinese takeaway style lemon chicken recipe recreates a classic! Recreate it at home with this easy recipe.
Crispy fried chicken, lightly glazed with citrus packed lemon sauce. This is a hugely popular Chinese takeaway dish, the brightness of the lemon sauce contrasting beautifully with savoury fried chicken.
Ingredients For Lemon Chicken
This recipe uses a potato starch coating to make crispy, deep fried chicken breast. The lemon sauce is made with cordial, fresh lemon juice and water, with honey and sugar added for extra sweetness.
Sauce: Lemon Cordial, Fresh Lemon Juice, Water, Mild Honey, Caster Sugar, Potato Starch, Water
Chicken: Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast, Rice Wine, Sea Salt, White Pepper, Egg, Potato Starch
Other Ingredients: Oil For Deep Frying
How To Make Lemon Chicken
To make this Chinese takeaway style lemon chicken, the lemon cordial, fresh lemon juice, water, honey and sugar are cooked together and thickened slightly with potato starch. Then, the chicken is seasoned, coated and fried in hot oil until golden and crispy. With the fried chicken cooked, it’s sliced into strips and topped with the tangy lemon sauce.
Step 1: Make The Lemon Sauce
In a pot, add lemon cordial, lemon juice, water, mild honey and white sugar. Mix well over a medium heat until boiling. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is reduced.
In a small bowl, add 1 teaspoon of potato flour or corn flour and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well. Add the mix to the simmering lemon sauce and stir well. Simmer the sauce for a further 1-2 minutes until thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Step 2: Fry The Chicken
Trim any excess fat from the chicken breast. Butterfly the chicken or use a meat mallet to flatten the chicken breast. Add the rice wine, sea salt and white pepper. Mix well. Add a touch of whisked egg, just enough to coat the chicken breast fillet. Pour the potato flour or corn flour into a large bowl.
Heat oil for deep frying to around 180c. When the oil is hot, press the chicken breast into the flour mix, shaking off any excess. Place the breaded chicken carefully into the hot oil. Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes or until golden, crispy and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, drain off any excess oil and set aside to rest.
Step 3: Serve Chinese Takeaway Style Lemon Chicken
Reheat the prepared lemon sauce gently whilst the chicken rests. Slice the chicken breast into 7-8 pieces, arrange on a serving plate and finish with lemon sauce as desired. Lemon chicken is particularly tasty with egg fried rice and sweet & sour sauce.
I hope you’ll try this Chinese takeaway style lemon chicken recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Ingredients
- 150 ml lemon cordial
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 200 ml water
- 1 tablespoon mild honey
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon potato flour or corn flour
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast about 150g
- 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1 egg whisked
- 8 tablespoons potato flour or corn flour
- vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a pot, add lemon cordial, lemon juice, water, mild honey and white sugar. Mix well over a medium heat until boiling. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is reduced.
- In a small bowl, add 1 teaspoon of potato flour or corn flour and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well. Add the mix to the simmering lemon sauce and stir well. Simmer the sauce for a further 1-2 minutes until thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Trim any excess fat from the chicken breast. Butterfly the chicken or use a meat mallet to flatten the chicken breast. Add the rice wine, sea salt and white pepper. Mix well. Add a touch of whisked egg, just enough to coat the chicken breast fillet. Pour the potato flour or corn flour into a large bowl.
- Heat oil for deep frying to around 180c. When the oil is hot, press the chicken breast into the flour mix, shaking off any excess. Place the breaded chicken carefully into the hot oil. Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes or until golden, crispy and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, drain off any excess oil and set aside to rest.
- Reheat the prepared lemon sauce gently whilst the chicken rests. Slice the chicken breast into 7-8 pieces, arrange on a serving plate and finish with lemon sauce as desired.
Chinese Takeaway Style Lemon Chicken Recipe FAQ
Make Ahead: Fry the chicken and prepare the lemon sauce ahead of time. The chicken can be fried again in hot oil for 1-2 minutes until piping hot, or reheated in an oven or air fryer. The lemon sauce can be reheated gently on the hob – add a touch of water if it becomes too thick.
Do you like this Chinese takeaway style lemon chicken recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make crispy chicken wings, black bean & green pepper, salt & chilli chicken and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
- McGovern, Kenny (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages – 06/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Robinson (Publisher)
Hi Kenny, what kind of sweet and sour sauce is added with the lemon chicken? Any generic pack? (like Lee Kum Kee) or a specific recipe?
Hi Daniel – I made my own sweet & sour sauce with a recipe from The Takeaway Secret – I’m working on a new recipe too which I’ll post here soon!