This is probably the best (and easiest) fakeaway you'll ever try. This Crispy (and sticky) Chinese Lemon Chicken is the perfect 30-minute dinner. A sticky sweet garlic lemon sauce coating crispy golden fried chicken pieces are all we need for dinner forever! And did I mention that all the ingredients are available from Aldi UK? Yep. This dinner is perfection alright!
If your idea of a "better than Deliveroo" fakeaway does not involve something saucy and sticky served over piles of steaming rice, then who even are you? This is probably my desert island dinner.
Chinese Lemon Chicken
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Ingredients needed for making Chinese Lemon Chicken
- Chicken (boneless, skinless)
- honey
- soy sauce
- ginger
- garlic
- lemon
- vegetable stock (use a stock cube)
- cornstarch
- vegetable oil
- Spring onion & Coriander for serving
How to make Sticky Lemon Chicken Step By Step
- Dice the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Make the marinade combining the ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken. Leave to marinate for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and dip into the corn starch making sure all sides of the chicken are coated well. Lay them on a plate or baking tray while you heat up the oil in a deep frying pan or cast-iron skillet.
- Once the oil is hot (about 165ºc) fry the chicken until cooked through and crispy on all sides.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove from the oil and place on a piece of kitchen roll to absorb any excess fat.
Keep the chicken warm while you make the sauce. Give the pan a quick wipe out with some paper towel and add another drop of oil.
Gently soften the garlic and ginger over the heat and add the remaining ingredients, leaving the cornstarch until last. Bring to a simmer and once the sauce has thickened, toss the crispy chicken pieces in the sauce. Serve over rice and top with spring onions and coriander.
You 10000% need to make this for dinner one night this week. It's not greasy, it's not overly sweet, it's just the perfect combination of crispy, sweet, sour and just sticky enough to feel a little naughty, but far too delicious for you to even care!
*No nutrition info provided for fried foods. Savvy Bites house rules!
Crispy Chinese Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 400 g (⅞ lb) boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
Marinade Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) white wine vinegar
- 1 (1) large egg
- 150 g (1 cup) cornstarch
- 100 ml (3 ⅜ floz) vegetable oil
- For the lemon sauce
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) olive oil
- 1 clove (1 clove) garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) honey
- 80 ml (2 5/7 floz) chicken broth using ½ a stock cube, or use fresh
- 80 ml (2 5/7 floz) light soy sauce
- 1 (1) lemon, juice & zest
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, and the egg. Leave to marinate for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove the chicken from the marinade. Place the cornstarch in a medium bowl and toss the chicken to coat evenly. Set aside while you heat the oil in a cast iron skillet.
- When the oil is hot, shake off any excess cornstarch and fry the chicken in batches in a single layer until they are golden and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate with a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
- Carefully pour the frying oil out of the pan and add the olive oil. Sauté the garlic and ginger until soft about 1 minute. Add in the honey, lemon juice and zest, stock, soy sauce and bring to a boil. Let thicken for a minute then add in the cornstarch and water mixture. Bring to a boil and add the chicken back to the sauce tossing to coat.
- Serve with rice, chopped spring onion and chopped coriander.
Notes
- The amount of cornstarch is a lot, but because we're dusting the chicken we won't be using much. We just need a lot to make sure we coat the chicken properly.
- Add or adjust the amount of garlic, honey and lemon to your preference.
Nutrition
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
Max O'Walters
This looks amazing! We have a soy allergy in the house, can I sub the soy sauce for a vinegar/other?
Deborah Rainford
Hi Max. Coconut aminos would work. Flavour-wise, its very similar to soy sauce, but lower in sodium and gluten-free naturally. You can find it at Holland and Barrett or just order from Amazon. This is the one that I use- https://amzn.to/3QDfTfc. You can use it as a stand-in for soy sauce in any Asian-style recipe, not just this one. Hope that helps. Let me know if you try it with the aminos and how it turns out! 🙂
Michelle
Fabulous fakeaway, the whole family loved it. I have tried 3 recipes now and all turned out great. Thanks for sharing these, only thing, any chance you can come up with some slightly lower carb and lower calorie recipes? Every time I try make them a bit healthier, they dont taste as good. Heres hoping.
Thanks again
Deborah Rainford
I'm working on some lower carb/ lower calorie options now and will take a look at suggesting options for any new recipes. 🙂
Jaz
Is Cornstarch the same as cornflour?! ?
Deborah Thompson
Hey Jaz. Yeah, it sure is! I'll amend that so that people know. Thanks so much!
Jaz
Thank you!! Ive followed a fair few of your recipes and absolutely love them! Thanks so much for sharing them all. I did traipse all over Aldi looking for Cornstarch today though ?
Mojoblogs
Wow! This will be perfect for family dinner! Thank you for sharing this! I'm excited to serve this to my family!
Deborah Thompson
Thanks so much! Hope you love it!
Katrina
First time trying this tonight so fingers crossed they love it!!
Deborah Rainford
Amazing! Hope they all love it! Let me know how it goes. 🙂