[rec.food.recipes] CHICKEN: Chinese Lemon Chicken

tammy@siva.UUCP (Tammy Jean Shubert-Marsh) (12/17/90)

In article <1990Dec12.141953.6798@mthvax.cs.miami.edu> andy@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Andy Bond) writes:

>I'm looking for a Chinese Lemon Chicken recipe.  It's the one with
>chicken pieces in batter in a lemon sauce (sort of like sweet & sour
>pork but with chicken for pork and lemon for the sweet & sour, if that
>makes any sense).

This recipe is from Sunset's Chinese Cook Book.  I have made it twice
with great results.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts or thighs
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp each water and cornstarch
1/4 tsp sesame oil
dash of white pepper
2 tbsp salad oil
1 cup all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup water
salad oil
lemon sauce (follows)

Skin and bone chicken; cut in pieces roughly 2 inches square.  Pound
chicken lightly with the back of a cleaver or heavy knife so each piece
is of uniform thickness.  In a bowl, combine soy, water, the 1 tbsp
cornstarch, sesame oil, and pepper.  Add chicken and stir to coat, then
stir in 1 tbsp of the salad oil and let stand for 15 minutes to
marinate.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, the 1/4 cup cornstarch,
and baking powder.  Add the remaining 1 tbsp salad oil and water and
blend until smooth.  Let batter stand for 10 minutes.

In a wide frying pan, pour salad oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches and
heat to 350 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer.  Dip each piece of
chicken in batter, then place in hot oil.  Fry chicken without
crowding, turning occasionally, until crust is golden brown and meat is
no longer pink (about 5 to 6 minutes for breasts, 7 to 8 minutes for
thighs).  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Keep
warm in a 200 degree oven until all pieces are cooked.

Lemon Sauce:  Cut 1 large thin-skinned lemon in thin slices; discard
any seeds and end pieces.  In a small pan, heat 1 tbsp salad oil over
medium -high heat.  Add lemon slices and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Add
1 cup chicken broth, 7 tbsp sugar, 3 tbsp lemon juice, and salt to
taste.  Simmer for 2 minutes.  Blend 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp
water.  Pour into sauce and cook, stirring, until sauce bubbles and
thickens slightly.  Pour over chicken just before serving.  Makes 4 or
5 servings.

Note: In the lemon sauce, the ratio of sugar and lemon varies with the
cook.  I didn't want it as sweet, so I used only 4 tbsp of sugar.

uucp : {ames!pacbell!sactoh0|csusac!unify}!siva!tammy