Crispy Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

For the marinade

• 454g / 1 pound boneless chicken breast or thigh

• 9g / 1 Tbsp minced garlic

• 3g / 1 tsp minced ginger

• 8.3g / 1.5 tsps soy sauce

• 7g / 1.5 tsps Chinese cooking wine

• 0.6g / ¼ tsp ground black pepper or to taste

For the lemon sauce

• 42g / 2 Tbsps honey

• 50g / 4 Tbsps brown sugar

• 58g / 3.5 Tbsps soy sauce

• 32g / 2 Tbsps sambal chili sauce

• 45g / 3 Tbsps water

• 7.5g / 1 Tbsp cornstarch

• 9g / 1 Tbsp lemon zest

• 52.5g / 3.5 Tbsps lemon juice

For frying and finishing

• 80g / ⅔ cup cornstarch

• 93g / ⅔ cup all-purpose flour

• 1egg

• 220g / 1 cup oil to shallow-fry

• 4g / 1 Tbsp diced scallion as garnish

• 3-4 lemon slices as garnish

Directions

1. Cut the boneless chicken breast or thigh into big strips, and then slice it into bite-size pieces.

2. Combine the chicken, minced garlic, minced ginger, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and ground black pepper in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Let the mixture rest for 20 minutes.

3. While waiting, combine all of the lemon sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

4. The next step is breading the chicken. Combine 3 cup cornstarch and 33 cup all-purpose flour in a large ziplock bag and shake well.

§ Chef's Secret: Since cornstarch is the key to making chicken crispy, you want to use both cornstarch and flour. If you use only flour, the breading will come out doughy.

5. Add the marinated chicken into the bag and shake until well-coated. Use a sieve to get rid of the excess flour and transfer the chicken into a bowl.

6. Crack one egg into the coated chicken and mix thoroughly. Put the chicken back into the bag and shake to coat it twice because a thicker breading will protect the breast meat from drying out.

7. Use a sieve to get rid of the excess flour again. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes so the flour has enough time to bond together, and less breading falls off during the frying.

8. Meanwhile, heat 1 cup oil to 400°F / 204°C.

9. Fry the chicken in two batches over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side or until both sides are golden brown. Shallow-frying uses less oil than deep- frying. Since the food is only partly submerged, it must be flipped over partway through the cooking process. Before you fry the second batch, remove the flour crumbs from the oil using a fine sieve.

10. Once the chicken is golden brown, remove it from the oil and let it rest.

& Meal Prepping Tip: You can freeze the chicken after frying for up to 6 months. Whenever you want to eat it again, heat it in an air fryer (360°F/ 182°C for about 10 minutes) or an oven (400°F/ 204°C for 12-14 minutes) without defrosting. Then coat it with the sauce, and you have a quick delicious dinner ready.

11. Pour out most of the frying oil from the wok but leave 1 Tbsp behind. Add the lemon sauce and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes or until it thickens.

12. Add the fried chicken and toasted sesame seeds to the wok. Toss everything until the chicken is coated with the sauce. Recommend to combine the chicken with the sauce at the last minute when everybody is ready to eat, so the chicken retains its crust and crispiness. The longer you let the chicken sit before serving, the less crispy it will be.

13. Garnish with diced scallions and lemon slices and serve with white rice.