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Home ► Recipes ► Chinese (American)

Lemon Chicken

Updated: 12.12.23 | Marc Matsumoto | 4 Comments

4.34 from 3 votes
Savory and sweet with a refreshing tang, this lemon chicken uses a one-two punch of lemon juice and lemon zest combined with honey to create a glorious lemony glaze around each bite of mouth-watering chicken.
Recipe
The best lemon chicken recipe with juicy chunks of savory chicken glazed in a sweet and tangy lemon sauce.

It's been a while since I've updated a Chinese-American classic and given a recent request I received for this dish, I decided it was high time I give it a go. The basic process is the same as my orange chicken recipe, but I've substituted honey for the marmalade and used salt instead of soy sauce for the marinade to keep the color lighter. Lemon and black pepper are one of my favorite flavor combinations, so I couldn't resist adding a generous grind of the fragrant spice into the marinade for both flavor and heat.

Once marinated, the chicken is lightly dusted with potato starch before being fried until a light golden brown. I know potato starch isn't as easy to find as cornstarch, but it's superior in almost every way. For frying, potato starch results in a light, crisp crust, as opposed to cornstarch, which tends to get crunchy (like the difference between a potato chip and a corn chip). As a thickener, it stays completely translucent and does not get gloppy or cloying as it cools. If you can't find it in your grocery store it's available on Amazon.

Tangy, sweet and savory, this easy lemon chicken recipe is quick and delicious.

The chicken doesn't take long to fry since it's cut into relatively small pieces, so be careful not to overdo it, or it will get tough and dry. I recommend using an instant-read thermometer. I use one called a Thermapen made by Thermoworks.

After you've fried the chicken, it just gets tossed in a simple sauce packed with loads of lemon flavor, thanks to the addition of both lemon juice and zest, Honey balances out the tartness, while sake adds umami to the sauce. If you chose to substitute water for the sake, it would still taste great, but the flavor will not be quite as complex. Finally, I add just a bit of soy sauce for some extra flavor, but not enough to muddy the color of the lemon sauce.

Serve this Lemon Chicken with with some rice, Chow Mein or Singapore Noodles for an awesome Chinese-American dinner that comes together in less time than ordering take-out.

📖 Recipe

The best lemon chicken recipe with juicy chunks of savory chicken glazed in a sweet and tangy lemon sauce.

Lemon Chicken

4.34 from 3 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Yield 2 servings

Units

Ingredients 

for chicken

  • 350 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs (cut into 1 ½-inch pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon sake
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ground black pepper (to taste)
  • ⅓ cup potato starch
  • vegetable oil (for frying)

for sauce

  • 1 lemon zested
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons sake (or water)
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon potato starch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

for garnish

  • sesame seeds
  • scallions

Instructions

  • Put the chicken in a bowl with the sake, salt and black pepper. Marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to overnight.
    Chicken marinating in bowl for lemon chicken recipe.
  • When you're ready to make the lemon chicken, add 2-inches of oil to a heavy-bottomed pot, and heat the oil to 340 degrees F (170 C). Prepare a paper towel lined rack.
  • Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a separate pan and set aside.
    Lemon chicken sauce in pan with squeezed lemons on the side.
  • Add the potato starch in a bowl and drop the chicken pieces in the potato starch. Roll the chicken around to coat each piece evenly with starch, tapping the excess off on the side of the bowl.
    Dusting the marinated chicken in potato starch for making lemon chicken.
  • When the oil is ready, fry the chicken in batches until a light golden brown and cooked through (to test, remove a piece from the pan and use an instant-read thermometer, it should read 160 degrees F). Drain the chicken on the paper towel lined rack.
    Testing the temperature of fried chicken using a purple Thermapen.
  • When you've finished frying all the chicken, bring the lemon sauce to a boil. Add the chicken and toss until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is coated in a thick, shiny glaze.
    Lemon chicken in a non-stick pan on the stove.
  • Plate the lemon chicken and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
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Nutrition Facts

Calories • 626kcalCarbohydrates • 53gProtein • 31gFat • 29gSaturated Fat • 7gCholesterol • 171mgSodium • 901mgPotassium • 648mgFiber • 1gSugar • 27gVitamin A • 135IUVitamin C • 13.6mgCalcium • 31mgIron • 1.7mg

Comments

    4.34 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Ana says

    May 03, 2025 at 5:28 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!!! Many thanks for the recipe 😍

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      May 10, 2025 at 10:15 am

      You're welcome! I'm happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  2. Nicole says

    January 28, 2020 at 3:05 am

    Hi! I am trying to cook the dish without deep frying the chicken.
    Will it work? 😉

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      January 28, 2020 at 9:38 am

      Hi Nicole, unfortunately the coating needs to be fried for this dish. You could probably get away with spraying the coated chicken with tons of oil and baking it in a hot oven, but if you're trying to cut back on the fat, you'd probably be better off frying it as the high temperature of the oil when deep frying vaporizes the surface moisture on the chicken, which keeps the oil from soaking into the coating. If you spray it with cooking spray before adding it to the oven, most of that oil is going to remain in the coating.

      Reply
Marc Matsumoto

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