Friday, June 20, 2008

Lemon Chicken

I've been really busy in the Smoky Mountain Cafe test kitchen tweaking flavorful recipes to share with all of you. I don't care much for the yellow, thick, gooey lemon sauce found lemon chicken in a lot of restaurants. This has a more delicate lemon taste and a less gooey sauce. Ok boys and girls, let's make one of the easiest and best tasting versions Lemon Chicken I've found.

Lemon Chicken -





Slice 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this strips.

Place about a cup of cornstarch in a medium size bowl.

In another bowl, mix 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of Asian Five Spice powder. I started with one egg and wound up needing 2...so use 2 eggs.

Coat the chicken strips first dusting each strip one at a time in the cornstarch, then dredging it through the egg mixture then again in the cornstarch. Fry the strips at medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok in about 1/3 cup of vegetable or peanut oil, 3 minutes per side Be careful not to crowd the skillet. Remove the strips from the skillet to a paper towel lined platter.

While the chicken is cooking, whisk together in a medium bowl, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and 4 tablespoons tamari (aged soy sauce) or regular soy sauce and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together 1-1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.

When the chicken is cooked, lower the heat just a notch and add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and 2 finely chopped shallots to the skillet and stir fry for about 30 seconds, then add the lemon/soy sauce and let it come to a boil. Once the sauce comes to a boil add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir until sauce has thickened.

Return the chicken strips to the skillet and coat the strips with the sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes and serve. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve some fried rice (http://smokymountaincafe.blogspot.com/2008/02/asian-in-mountains.html) on the side.

6 comments:

  1. That sounds fantastic. I will have to give it a try. I love experimenting in the kitchen too.

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  2. I love lemon chicken and so does everyone in my family. Have you tried cooking with rice oil? You can get it very HOT.

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  3. I haven't tried rice oil, but i will definitely try it next time. Thanks!

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  4. OOh-that looks delicious. I love the pics of the whole process. Your green beans look fantastic, too!

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  5. I love lemon chicken, but I haven't had it in a long time. Maybe I'll make it one day, but after my pad thai disaster, it will probably be a while before I start cooking meals. Thanks for visiting my blog. With more practise, I'm sure we'll both get over the fear of baking!

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  6. That chicken looks good and sounds tasty.

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Thanks for stopping by, I enjoy reading your comments.

Katherine