Name: Lemon Chicken: The Authentic Version
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 240 ml (8 fl oz) groundnut oil or 480 ml (16 fl oz) water (see variation); 1 teaspoon water; 120 ml (4 fl oz) Chinese Chicken Stock or store-bought fresh stock; 1 teaspoon cornflour blended with; 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest; 2 dried red chillies, crushed; 1 tablespoon finely sliced garlic; 2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry; 2 teaspoons cornflour; 1 teaspoon salt; 450 g (1 lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 1 egg white; 1 tablespoon light soy sauce; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Easy Family Dishes

By Ken Hom

Published 1998

About

This version uses oil to cook the chicken briefly, until the flesh is succulent and velvety, hence the term ‘velveted’. You can use water instead of oil.

Ingredients

450 g (1 lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg white

Main course

Method

Cut the chicken breasts into 4 cm (1½ in) cubes. Mix the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornflour in a bowl and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Heat a wok until it is very hot and swirl in the oil. When the oil is very hot, remove the wok from the heat and immediately add the chicken pi