Chinese takeaway style lemon chicken is easy to make and ready super quick. This recipe needs minimal ingredients and tastes identical to the dish you would order in a takeaway. You must try this recipe out! I actually prefer mine non-fried when I go to a restaurant but this version is more popular, if you wish to do a non-fried version cook the chicken chunks in a wok or similar fully then skip the frying steps and put it in the sauce!
So, lets start off by getting the chicken coating ready. Beat together 2 eggs and add to a bowl, tip in the chicken chunks, add the zest of half a lemon and then season with salt and pepper. Give this a mix together so it is well combined and coats the chicken fully. Wrap in cling film and then place in the fridge for around 20 minutes, but you can leave it longer. Have the plain flour ready in a bowl to one side for dunking shortly.
Meanwhile add oil to a wok and heat your oil. Warm it until it begins to cook a small piece of chicken when dropped instantly and sizzles immediately.
You can also part make your sauce whilst waiting for the wok to warm the oil. Add the water, sugar and juice of 1 lemon to a saucepan and mix off the heat for the time being to just dissolve the sugar. Leave it to one side.
With the chicken out of the fridge use on hand to lift out the chicken and dunk in the flour, coating it well all over. Fry the pieces in batches until golden brown and repeat until all chicken is cooked through, resting the chicken on kitchen towel once cooked. With your chicken done, place the saucepan on the hob and warm the sugar lemon mixture, once it gets to a simmer (which won’t take long) lower the heat. Mix together 5tbsp water with 2tbsp cornflour in a small bowl until a white fluid is formed, it will be quite tough at first when you combine the two but the cornflour will dissolve. Add this to the simmering pan and keep stirring or whisking if you like until blended in. You will notice the mixture will start to thicken as you stir, keep simmering for a few minutes and add the chicken in.
Gently warm the chicken through and stir with a spatula to fully coat the chicken – it will look super glossy! Do this for around 5 minutes, not disturbing the chicken too much but warming it through and making it glossy. Serve immediately, either along or with egg fried rice and top with sesame seeds and spring onion if you wish. Absolutely delicious!