Lemon chicken, let's celebrate spring!

 

 I like lemons and I like spring. I would like to show you how I make my lemon chicken today but before I start, I would like to ask you to read this poem with me to get in the mood of spring, would ya?

Spring 

by William Blake

Sound the Flute!
Now it's mute.
Birds delight
Day and Night
Nightingale
In the dale
Lark in Sky
Merrily
Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year

Little Boy
Full of joy,
Little Girl
Sweet and small,
Cock does crow
So do you.
Merry voice
Infant noise
Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year

Little Lamb
Here I am.
Come and lick
My white neck.
Let me pull
Your soft Wool.
Let me kiss
Your soft face
Merrily Merrily we welcome in the Year

       And below is my husband's poem  

         
Ode to the lemon chicken

How do I love thee? 

Let me count the ways

Thou art sweet 

Thou art sour

.....?

Okay, enough of poem here! Let's get down to business to defeat the ???

You will need chicken breast, lemon, corn starch, potato starch, egg, rice wine, salt, sugar, and honey. 

I forgot to add honey in the picture. Soooooorry!

First, you need to mix equal part of corn starch and water in a bowl.

Keep in the fridge for a few hours.

Overnight is even better. This will help the batter create a nice crisp texture later. 

If you don't have time to make this ahead of time, 

just use dry corn starch and add about 1Tbsp of water or more to the batter.

As you see the water will separate from the starch and you will have the pure corn starch ready to use.

I did not have much time to let it sit so some of the starch is following the water. 

If you let it sit for at least 4 hours the starch will remain firm.

Drain the water as much as possible. Set a side.

Cut the chicken breast into 1/2" thick sticks.

Season with some salt, egg yolk, rice wine and pepper. 

Follow your instinct on salt and pepper.

 Grate some zest from the lemon, and squeeze out all the juice.

In a bowl mix lemon zest, juice, sugar, honey, salt, water, and potato starch.

You can use corn starch instead but potato starch gives nice shine to the sauce when cooked.

I like shiny stuff. Bling-bling!

Now, beat the egg white with all your heart and soul until it forms a stiff peak.

The meringue will form the air in the batter and yields crisp texture.

In a bowl add chicken, corn starch, egg white and mix just until until combined. 

The batter should not be too runny or too thick. 

Just thick enough to coat the chicken.

Heat some oil in the pan on medium-high. 

I like to use a pan shaped like Chinese wok for deep frying. 

You only need about 1 1/2" deep of oil in the wok.

Check oil temperature by dropping a little batter to see if it floats up right away with big bubbles. 

 If you are a lucky one to have a deep fryer, the temperature should be 180C.

 Drop the chicken pieces in a little batch at a time and deep fry for 1minute. 

You are going to deep fry twice to create real crisp texture.

Don't be afraid of deep frying.

If the temperature is right and you deep fry fast and drain well,

 it doesn't soak up that much oil actually.

After the first frying. 

Here is a tip. when you take them out from the oil, 

shake them up by tapping on the side of the pan. 

This will help to remove oil and the moisture in the batter to exit.

That's how the Chinese chef deep fry their meat.

They use a big mesh utensil and toss them in before putting on the plate.

Now, here is after second frying. It takes about 1-2 minutes.

Do you see the texture is crisper and the color got deepen?

You can just eat one right there. I usually do that.

Heat a small pan over high heat until it gets very hot.

Pour the sauce and let it bubble up to thicken, stirring constantly until it becomes like a glaze.

 You can add 1Tbsp of hot oil to increase its shine.

 Add the chicken pieces to the glaze and toss well fast.

You need to be lightening fast to serve these guys.

Thanks for reading my blog, folks!
Please, take my gift of tulips from my heart 
and

Happy Spring! 

Lemon chicken

serves 2-3

3/4lb (300g) chicken breast cut into 1/2" sticks

2t rice wine

1 egg, separated

dashes of salt and pepper

1/2C Corn starch

1/2C water

Oil for deep frying

Sauce:

Juices of 2 lemons or 5T

1t lemon zest

3T sugar

3T honey

1 1/4t salt

1/3C water

2t potato starch or corn starch

Mix 1/2C corn starch with 1/2C water in a small bowl and keep in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. The water will get separated from the starch and drain all the water carefully. Set a side.

In a bowl mix chicken pieces with 1 egg yolk, rice wine and some salt and pepper. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile beat the egg white until it forms a stiff peak. Add the egg whites and the drained corn starch into the chicken mixture. Mix them until combined.

Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients.

Heat oil in the pan on medium-high heat until it reaches to 180C.

Deep fry chicken pieces in a small batch at a time for 1 minute. Remove them from oil by gently shaking them up and transfer onto paper towel. Just before serving, deep fry the chicken pieces again for the second time for 1-2 minutes. Transfer onto paper towel.

Moving quickly heat a small pan on high heat until it gets hot. Pour the sauce and let it thicken until it becomes like a glaze stirring constantly. You can add 1Tbsp of hot oil to the sauce if you like to increase shine. Add the chicken and toss well.

Serve immediately.

Printable recipe