Saturday, August 4, 2007

Chinese-style Lemon Chicken

I fixed lemon chicken for Mel and Keri last night, and since Keri asked for the recipe I thought this might be a good way to share it. It's quite a quick meal.

Requires (for 3 servings):
  • 1/2 large white onion.
  • 1/2 green pepper.
  • 2 spring onions.
  • 1 mild red chili pepper.
  • 5-spice powder.
  • Sesame seeds.
  • A small pack of boneless chicken breasts.
  • A jiff lemon worth of lemon juice.
  • Flour.
  • A little wine or cider vinegar (about a tablespoon).

Preparation:
Chop the onion, pepper, spring onions and chili into tiny slices. Cut the chicken into strips.

Cooking:
  1. Heat oil in wok until it is sizzling, on high heat.
  2. Throw all chopped veggies in, stir frantically to attain some crispness.
  3. Add 2 tsp 5-spice powder, and a scattering of sesame seeds.
  4. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, until onion is soft.
  5. Remove onion from Wok, store in a container.
  6. Add chicken to Wok (still on high), add 1 tsp 5-spice. Stir until chicken is sealed/dark on all sides.
  7. Lower heat on Wok to low.
  8. Put lemon juice and vinegar in a saucepan, heat to the boil. (this is a good time to start the rice, too, if you are also making it). Optionally add sugar; I usually add 1 tablespoon at most. A pinch of salt also helps with flavor.
  9. Occasionally stir the chicken. When the lemon juice boils, gradually add flour (1tsp at a time, stir thoroughly after adding) until the sauce is starting to thicken.
  10. Add lemon juice to wok with chicken, re-add vegetables to wok.
  11. Raise heat to high, and stir. Sauce will continue to boil around chicken/veg.
  12. After 3 minutes, it's ready to serve.
Total cooking time is around 15 minutes. A very simple, yet tasty and healthy recipe.

1 comment:

stevecotterill said...

It Lives!

Erm cool looking recipe too.