Chinese Lemon Chicken — Cantonese Crispy Chicken in Lemon Sauce

Name: Chinese Lemon Chicken — Cantonese Crispy Chicken in Lemon Sauce
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 500g chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces; Batter: ½ cup cornstarch, ¼ cup flour, 1 egg, ¼ cup water, ½ tsp salt; Oil for deep frying; Sauce: juice of 2 lemons, zest of 1 lemon, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp honey, 100ml water, 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water, pinch of turmeric for colour

Prep:30 min

Cook:30 min

Serves:2–4

Difficulty:Medium

Chinese lemon chicken is a Cantonese classic: crispy battered chicken pieces drenched in a glossy, bright lemon sauce that's tangy, sweet, and slightly sticky. Unlike the pale, soggy versions found in bad takeout, properly made lemon chicken has a shatteringly crispy coating that stays crunchy under the sauce and a lemon sauce made from real lemons — not just bottled lemon juice — with a balance of sweet and sour.

Lemon chicken (柠檬鸡, níng méng jī) is one of the classic Cantonese dishes adapted for Western palates in the diaspora. The original Cantonese version uses a lighter batter and a less sweet sauce than the Westernised adaptation.

Ingredients

• 500g chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Batter: ½ cup cornstarch, ¼ cup flour, 1 egg, ¼ cup water, ½ tsp salt
• Oil for deep frying
• Sauce: juice of 2 lemons, zest of 1 lemon, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp honey, 100ml water, 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water, pinch of turmeric for colour

Instructions

1
Mix batter ingredients until smooth. Toss chicken pieces in batter until coated.
2
Heat oil to 170°C (340°F). Fry chicken in batches for 4 minutes until light golden. Drain.
3
Increase oil to 190°C (375°F). Fry chicken again for 2 minutes until deeply golden and crispy.
4
Make sauce: combine lemon juice, zest, sugar, honey, water, and turmeric in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
5
Add cornstarch slurry and stir until sauce thickens to a glossy consistency.
6
Arrange crispy chicken on a plate. Pour the hot lemon sauce over immediately and serve.

Pro Tips

💡Double frying is essential — it creates the extra-crispy coating that stays crunchy under the sauce.
💡Use fresh lemon juice and zest — bottled lemon juice lacks the bright, complex flavour of real lemons.
💡Pour sauce over chicken just before serving — the coating stays crispier the less time it sits in sauce.