Lee Lum's Lemon Chicken

Submitted by deborahlee555

"This recipe is from Craig Claibourne's New York Times Cookbook, and I think it's one of the best recipes I've ever tried. It looks beautiful, I love the flavors, and in my opinion, well worth the work. Don't leave out or substitute for the whole bottle of lemon extract added at the very last second; it's what makes the dish. If you cannot find water chestnut flour or powder, you can substitute cornstarch. However, the texture will not be as crispy or nutty."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 21
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• CHICKEN

• 8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon gin or 1 tablespoon vodka
• 3 egg whites, beaten until frothy
• 1 cup water chestnut flour (or powder)
• peanut oil or salad oil (for frying)

• LEMON SAUCE

• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 cup chicken broth (fresh or canned)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon msg (I always leave it out) (optional)
• 1 lemon (juice and grated rind)
• 3 small carrots, julienned
• 1⁄2 large green pepper, julienned
• 3 green onions, julienned
• 3 canned pineapple rings, drained & shredded (or about 1/2 cup shredded pineapple)
• 1 (1 ounce) bottle lemon extract
• 1⁄4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

directions

1. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow dish.
2. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and gin or vodka, and pour over the chicken; toss to coat and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200.
4. Beat the egg whites, drain the chicken (discarding the marinade), and toss to coat.
5. Pour the water-chestnut flour on a plate and dredge chicken completely in the flour.
6. Arrange the shredded lettuce attractively on a platter.
7. To cook the chicken, pour the peanut oil into a skillet (use an electric skillet if you have one) to a depth of 1/2 inch and heat to 350 degrees.
8. Add the chicken in batches, browning one side, then turning to brown the other; drain and keep warm in the oven if necessary.
9. Either while you're cooking the chicken or afterwards (while keeping the chicken warm), in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, rice vinegar, broth, the cornstarch dissolved in the 2 tablespoons water, the msg if desired, the lemon juice and the rind; bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
10. Carefully and neatly slice the chicken crosswise into 1" slices, then using a large spatula, place attractively on top of the lettuce.
11. Add the vegetables and pineapple to the sauce; remove from the heat, stir in extract, pour over the chicken, and serve immediately.

Reviews

[mickeydownunder]

If there was only ONE Asian chicken for you to do, Would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recomend this one, TRUE! ok...bit fiddley at first for me, But NOW I KNOW what to do to make this recipe! Used sorghum flour (is chestnut flour in an Indian/spice place, but ALOT cheaper -- recommended by a fellow Zaarette :) ), and DEFINATELY peanut oil too! Drained on paper towels before placing in to warm in oven too! OK, cannot have pineapple or sugar, but is ONLY me! I used Splenda (same amount) and mandarin orange instead of pineapple, PLUS julienned baby carrots...GREAT to see! DEFINATELY greated extra lemon peel in sauce, To adjust the taste of course... OMG!! I cannot belive I did too! Have flour all over me to prove and the proof was I made a decorate plate...was DEVOURED by hubby and I in seconds so forgot to take a photo TRUE! THANKS! GREAT entertaining dish this would be, And I can now say I THOROUGHLY enjoyed making this recipe! THANKS!

 

[J. Ong]

I've been meaning to make this recipe since I first came across it in the NYT Sunday magazine. From the article, I was under the impression that I NEEDED to make this with waterchestnut flour. So I waited. I live in New York City, so I should be able to obtain this ingredient at one of our many Chinese enclaves. Fast forward all these years. I've finally been able to get my hands on waterchestnut flour- and I don't like it. I'm Chinese. I've had waterchestnuts raw. I love them. I did not like waterchestnut flour in this recipe. I found it somewhat burnt. I had to flip the chicken in a minute to avoid an overly dark crust. With just a minute of cooking for each side, of course, the middle was not cooked through. I raised the oven temperature to 350 and after a few minutes, it was done. Maybe the oil temperature could not go above 350. I actually let it go above to compensate for the lowering of the oil temperature by adding the chicken- still, next time I think I'll just stick with regular flour and use a whole egg instead of bothering to separate it. I didn't time how long I marinated the chicken for. I just prepared it before the rest of the recipe, but in order to infuse the chicken breast more I stabbed it a few times with a fork and scored it to create more surface area for the marinade to penetrate. To keep the sodium level lower I didn't add salt; I also reduced the sugar, in the sauce, by a third. I accidentally added the lemon juice and the lemon zest to the pot to be heated, I'm not sure if this resulted in a LESS tangy sauce, but I'll try not to make this mistake next time. Maybe I'll throw in some red pepper flakes for nuance. This dish reminded me of Chinese take-out. So, if you prefer traditional Chinese food, you may not like this too much.

 

[adrisolo]

I have been using the NYT Craig Claiborne cookbook (my 4th copy) since it was published., Lee Lum's Lemon Chicken is my favorite recipe. It is FABULOUS! It always comes out great. I never had any leftovers.