Quick & Easy Chinese Lemon Chicken

Quick & Easy Chinese Lemon Chicken

Crispy fried chicken coated in a sweet and savory lemon sauce. This quick and easy Chinese lemon chicken is made with simple ingredients. Saving you money and beating takeout! Great as a main dish for the family on busy weeknights! I also share how to air fry the chicken in the Notes section below.

5 from 20 votes

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Servings

Calories per serving 616 kcal

Ingredients

1 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs
⅓ cup cornstarch or potato starch
⅓ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Sauce:

¼ cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon ginger grated
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
½ cup chicken stock low sodium
½ tablespoon cornstarch or sub with potato starch

Optional:

1 teaspoon sesame seeds garnish
lemon slices

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine your sauce ingredients as listed. Set aside.
Dice chicken thighs into bite size pieces, about 1.5-inch pieces. Transfer diced chicken to a large bowl. Do not pat the chicken thighs dry as moisture is needed for the next step. Season diced chicken with salt and black pepper.
Add cornstarch to the bowl of diced chicken and evenly coat each piece in the cornstarch with tongs. Or toss the diced chicken in a Ziplock bag with the cornstarch.
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Carefully lower coated chicken and spread apart quickly. Fry chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Remove fried chicken from oil and transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to soak up excess oil. (To air fry the chicken, see the notes section below).
Discard any excess oil from pan. Heat pan on medium heat and pour in sauce. Keep stirring sauce until it bubbles and thickens.
Toss in chicken. Optional, garnish with sesame seeds, lemon slices or green onions. Enjoy!

Notes

How to Air Fry Chicken

Lightly spray air fryer basket with vegetable oil or any neutral oil.

Lay coated chicken into air fryer basket in a single layer giving each piece enough space. Lightly spray oil over coated chicken.

You may need to air fry in small batches if needed depending on the size of your air fryer.

Air fry at 400 F for 12-14 minutes until golden crispy brown. The amount of time depends on your air fryer.

Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!

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