recipe wednesday - chinese lemon chicken

i've decided that every wednesday i will post one of my favorite recipes. so here we go ...

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chinese lemon chicken.

serves: 4

ready in: 30 min

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ingredients:

4 chicken beast halves, cut into bite size pieces(or leave whole)

breading: (alternate baking instructions at the bottom of the post)

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 black pepper

(i also like to add lemon pepper)

1/8 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup cooking oil

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lemon sauce ingredients:

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice

3 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoon cornstarch

3 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoon chicken bouilon granules

1 teaspoon ginger (or more, if desired)

1 Tbsp parlsey flakes (a recent addition ... and yup, i LOVE it!)

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directions:

combine cornstarch, salt and pepper. blend in water and egg yolks. dip chicken pieces into cornstarch-egg mixture. fry chicken in oil for about 5 minutes until golden. pour sauce over chicken. (i personally can never get the mixture to stick, so i dip in the egg, and then coat with the cornstarch and seasonings, then fry).

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for the sauce: combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. cook over medium heat, stirring, about 5 minutes until sauce boils. pour over chicken, serve over or with white or fried rice.

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i also leave the chicken breasts as one, that way guests cannot fight over who got more chicken (as everyone gets one breast). to serve i like to put the rice on the plate, and cut the breast into strips on top, then cover with sauce. i like it all mixed up, and rice with every bite of chicken.

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ALTERNATE CHICKEN BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 eggs, beaten
1 sleeve of crushed buttery round cracker crumbs (i put them in a ziplock bag and pound with rolling pin)
2 tsp garlic powder ... or lemon pepper
1/4 cup butter, cut into thin slices
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directions:
preheat over to 350 degrees F. place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow bowls (pie tins work great). Mix crack crumbs with desired seasonings. Dip chicken in eggs, then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat ... repeat in egg mixture and crumb mixture if you want them even more coated ... which i always do! arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish (foil lined and sprayed with pam -- makes clean up easier), place thin slices of butter on top. bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, and juice run clear.