Well, I have to say my least favourite Chinese dishes are the ones caked in batter and drowning in sickly, gluey, sweet sauces even though we HAVE to order them (under extreme duress and to avoid tantrums in the local restaurant!) because the kids insist. This lighter alternative was an absolute hit! Crispy chicken breast drizzled with a sharp, tangy lemon sauce and topped with fresh green onion was an emmalicious winner that even convinced the kids. Finally the tantrums may stop……… it’s only taken 18 years.
Prep time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
Peanut oil for frying
4 x chicken breast fillets, trimmed of tenderloins
2 egg whites, whisked until fluffly
3 tbs of cornflour
For the Sauce:
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and then finely julienned*
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 lemon, pith removed and sliced (I grated the rind and then sliced the pith off before slicing into rounds)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs of shaoxing wine*
3 tbs of oyster sauce
1 tbs of soy sauce
3 tbs of honey
1 cup of chicken stock
2 spring onions
1 cup of coriander leaves
Steamed Jasmine rice and asian greens to serve
Slice the spring onions diagonally, reserving the white part for the sauce and the green ends for garnish. Place the green ends and coriander leaves in iced water to ensure they are nice and crispy and drain before using.
Combine the ginger, garlic, honey, oyster sauce, shaoxing, soy, lemon rind, lemon juice & lemon slices and stock in a medium sized saucepan. Stir while bringing the mix to the boil to dissolve the honey. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes or until reduced by half. If it looks to be reducing too rapidly add a little water. Just before serving, add the white part of the spring onion.
Place a breast fillet between two pieces of cling wrap and beat lightly with a rolling pin so that the fillet is an even width, approximately 2 cm in thickness. Repeat with the remaining breast fillets.
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Heat a large, heavy based frypan and cover the base with enough oil to cover the whole pan by about 1cm. Place the cornflour on a flat plate and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Dip the chicken in the whisked egg whites and then gently pat it on the cornflour, shaking off any excess flour, repeat on the other side. Pop the chicken straight into the frypan (it should be nice and hot by now, pop a little flour in first if you like and if it sizzles straight away it is ready) and fry on each side for approximately 4-5 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and place on an oven rack, pop it on a tray and in the oven to keep warm. The sooner you serve it the crispier it will be.
When all the chicken is cooked, divide the steamed rice between four plates. Slice the chicken into 1.5cm strips and place on top of the rice. Drizzle over the sauce and top with the fresh coriander leaves and green onion. Serve immediately so the chicken is still crispy…….
* To get really thin julienne ginger slices, I run my peeler down the ginger lengthways and then slice finely with my knife. Shaoxing wine is Chinese cooking wine and is available in most Asian sections of the supermarket or your Asian grocery store. Substitute dry sherry if you can’t get it……or leave it out!
Tried this one tonight Ems… did my usual thing & used ingredients I had, which differed slightly from your recipe but it worked really well & Ray loved it!! xx
Im’ glad you liked it and even more glad that it worked!
Amazing Em!!!! Thank you! Instead of ordering take away – I made it! Love love love it!
Fantastic Coby! That is just what I want to hear 🙂
Yum yum. Made this tonight and it was so look good. Another beauty, thanks Em!!
loved this
Loved it and will make it again.Chicken was fantastically crispy and moist, sauce could tend to be a little hot due to ginger. (my 5cm piece may have been too big) I took some out 1/2way through reducing the sauce. In saying that it was FANTASTIC. Can not wait until tomorrow to try another dish. THANKS HEAPS
Fabulous! Thank you for the feedback and all recipes can be tweaked to your tastes, Cheers Em
Yum! When I saw it I declared this was one I was definitely going to try one day – turns out the same day, today (as I had the ingredients)! Was delicious as usual Em. I’m particularly fond of your recipes with an Asian influence. Yummy crispy and the chicken was moist at the same time. Took me ages to reduce the sauce. I think I will use a bigger pot next time as the one I used was quite small 🙂
Cheers Jacqui….yes a larger pot might work. X
Were can you get the wine from ?
Hi Vikki, I can get the wine at my local Coles or Woolies in the Asian section. Otherwise a Chinese grocer will stick it.
I think I may have burnt my sauce, it was so bitter we unable to eat it…. Any tips? Chicken was great though.
Hi Emma, Oh no! My only tip would be to start again. Did you reduce it for the recommended time? I am not really sure what would have made it bitter? I hope you are not defeated and will give it another go….I have had some pretty good feedback on the recipe. Perhaps you could lessen the amount of ginger or taste the sauce as it is cooking? Cheers Em
Amazing dish enjoyed by whole family, I never like the fatty battered chicken or pork you get at the take out. This chicken was light crisp delicious! THANK YOU.
Thanks Sally! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂