When Jackie raved about how her family loved the delicious chicken dish she made from her new Asian cookbook, I was more than interested. You see, the dish was Lemon Chicken, something I used to make long, long ago for my college sweetheart–a dish that he would absolutely swoon over. I made for him time and time again during visits to his off-campus apartment. Just the mention of this dish brought back memories of a time of my life that I hadn’t thought about in quite a while. It took just one taste of Jackie’s delicious lemon chicken to bring me back to the unfettered innocence of my early adulthood and spark my need to make it again. But would my family — husband and kids — be as impressed with this dish as my first love? I had to find out.
So, during our next playgroup, Jackie and I decided to make lemon chicken together. As we stirred and thickened the flavorful sauce, one tangy taste conjured up sweet memories. Before long, my inquisitive four-year old (who had followed his nose to the kitchen) was staring up at me, wide-eyed, begging for a taste. As he licked his plate clean, I realized I had wooed another gentleman in my life.
Allison: The chicken looks delicious. Any chance for the recipe?
Jackie says she’ll post the recipe when she gets the chance. It was delicious!
Here’s the lemon chicken recipe:
(It’s from the Quick & Easy Chinese cookbook by Nancie McDermott — a great cookbook, by the way)
In this recipe, you cook the chicken and the lemon sauce separately, then add the sauce to the chicken when you serve it.
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup vegetable oil for cooking the chicken
3 tbsp. thinly sliced green onion
combine flour, salt, pepper in medium bowl. cut chicken breast on diagonal to make wide, thin pieces. coat each piece well in the flour mixture, then shake off any excess.
heat oil in large deep skillet over medium-high heat. cook in batches until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. then transfer to serving platter.
for the lemon sauce:
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. chopped fresh ginger (optional)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Combine water and cornstarch in small bowl and stir well. In medium saucepan, combine chicken stock, sugar, ginger, soy sauce, salt. Bring to gentle boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in lemon juice. When sauce boils gently again, add cornstarch. Cook, stirring often, as sauce turns cloudy then clear then thickens to a shiny, glossy state, about 1 minute.
Pour the hot lemon sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions if desired.
Enjoy!
Thanks Jackie! (By the way, I got an e-mail from Jackie yesterday who said that my blog inspired her to make lemon chicken last night for dinner! How funny, didn’t she inspire me to make it first? I guess inspiration keeps going round and round.)
Thanks so much for the recipe. Sounds easy and delicious, not often a combination. Can’t wait to try it.
This recipe for Lemon Chicken is really great! Made it tonight and it is easy, quick and delicious! Thanks for the recipe, it willl go into my favorites file.