Baked Lemon Chicken With Chinese Lemon Sauce

Chef Dine's Note:

An instant hit! 1/2 the fat of the chinese restaurant versions. This comes from Betty Crocker's Best Chicken Recipes. You won't have any leftovers!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp if you like spicier)
• cooking spray
• ½ lemon , cut into thin slices
• 1 green onion , chopped (about 1 Tbls)

Chinese Lemon Sauce

• ¼ cup sugar
• 1⁄3; cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cold water

Directions:

1. Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise. Mix egg white and water in a medium glass or plastic bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides and let stand 10 minutes.
2. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray nonstick cookie sheet with cooking spray. Remove chicken from egg mixture; discard egg mixture. Mix flour, baking soda and red pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Add 1 chicken piece at a time. Seal bag; shake to coat chicken. Place chicken on cookie sheet; spray with cooking spray about 5 seconds or until surface of chicken appears moist.
3. Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. While chicken is baking, prepare Chinese Lemon Sauce. Let chicken stand 5 minutes;slice each piece into 5 slices. Pour sacue over chicken. Garnish with lemon slices and green onion.
4. Chinese Lemon Sauce: Heat all ingredients except cornstarch and cold water to boiling in 1-quart suacepan, stirring occasionally. Mix cornstarch and cold water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir about 30 seconds or until thickened. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
5. This meal is excellent with steamed broccoli.

Reviews

[Cathy-O]

Least expected this to turn out well.. but decided to try it anyway as my son loves lemon chicken from the chinese restaurants. As he watched excitedly, my DH came in saying the house smelled exactly like a chinese restaurant. I was glad but kept telling them not to build up their hopes as it was baked and not fried the way it should be. Weren't we pleasantly surprised when we tasted it - it was perfect! I increased the flour to 1/2 cup but the baking soda down to 1/2 tsp, next time I will add more chillie pdr. Didn't even notice that there was garlic in the recipe till i read someone's review. Didn't have corn syrup so i skipped it although I had planned to use honey. Will remember to use it next time. I was disappointed that there was very little sauce so will double the amount next time. Thanks for teaching me how to make the baked battered chicken nuggets in the oven. I am going to try making szechuan chicken and then honey garlic chicken, then manchurian chicken using your baked method. Thank you for sharing that amazing low fat tip, although i generously greased the baking sheet with oil.

[kitchennana]

I am the first to admit, I don't like cooking. And it shows :-). Baking is my thing. But I tried this recipe and hubby loves it! So easy, and delicious. This will become a regular meal in our home. Thanks so much Chef Dine!!

[TinkerToy]

This is a wonderful recipe! I made it exactly as directed, except that I didn't have any green onions or lemons/lemon zest. I only had breasts that had been cut into strips so I cooked them that way and really liked how 'breaded' they seemed, since there was more surface area of course. After cooking, I cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and served with the sauce over rice. The sauce was very good, especially with the bit of heat from the cayenne in the chicken. Next time I will use the lemon zest though. Without it, the vinegar was a little overpowering. My favorite thing was that it has the flavor and texture of the traditional breaded and fried take-out chicken, but it isn't nearly as fatty! Well done, I will make again!