Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken

Serves 6

500 g (1lb 2oz) skinless chicken breast fillet

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1 spring onion (scallion), finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

90 g (3/4 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)

oil for deep-frying

Lemon Sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp roasted sesame oil

3 tbsp chicken stock  (or water)

1/2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Instructions:

1. Cut the chicken into slices. Place in a bowl. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, spring onion, ginger, and garlic. Toss lightly. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
2. Add the egg to the chicken and toss lightly (to coat the chicken). Drain away the excess egg. Coat the chicken pieces with cornflour. (Place in a plastic bag and shake.)
3. Fill a wok 1/4 full of oil. Heat the oil to 375* F (190* C). (Or until a piece of bread fried golden brown in 10 sec once dropped in the oil.)
4. Add half the chicken to the oil, one piece at a time. Fry the chicken, stirring constantly, for 3.5-4 minutes (or until golden brown). Remove with a wire sieve and drain.
5. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
6. Once all the chicken is fried, reheat the oil and return all the chicken to the wok. Cook until crisp and golden brown. 
7. Drain the chicken, pour off the oil, and wipe out the wok.
8. To make the lemon sauce, combine the lemon juice, sugar, salt, sesame oil, stock, and cornflour.
9. Reheat the wok over medium heat until hot, add the lemon sauce and stir constantly until thickened. 
10. Add the chicken and toss lightly in the sauce. 

Matthew made this for me for dinner tonight, out of our new cookbook, The Food of China. We picked it up on the Border's sale rack last weekend and, I have to say, it is a pretty impressive cookbook. The photography is really good and the recipes sound delicious. This was the first one we tried and it was sooo good!