Waitrose and Partners
Lemon chicken

Lemon chicken

Recreate lemon chicken, one of Britain’s best‑loved takeaway favourites, at home and keep a few extra pennies in your pocket. Food and travel content creator Shu Lin’s recipe uses an easy shallow‑fry method, making it brilliantly doable in your own kitchen. Discover more flavour‑packed dishes inspired by Chinese cuisine with our Chinese recipes, or turn it into a feast with Waitrose’s Chinese and Asian sides. Follow Shu Lin on Instagram

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Gluten free
  • Serves2
  • CourseMain meal
  • Prepare5 mins
  • Cook20 mins
  • Total time25 mins

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 4 salad onions, whites and greens separated, both roughly chopped
  • 1 medium free range egg, beaten
  • 3 tbsp cornflour, plus 1 tsp
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • 2 chicken breasts (about 200g each)
  • 2 unwaxed lemons, zest and juice
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • tbsp clear honey

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a small pan over a medium-low heat. Add the salad onion whites. Cook for about 3 minutes, until aromatic, without browning too much. Remove from the heat and strain over a small bowl. Set aside the infused oil and discard the cooked onions.

  2. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl with a pinch of salt. In a separate shallow bowl, mix 3 tbsp cornflour with a little salt and white pepper. Lay the chicken breasts in the beaten egg and turn them over, making sure each is coated. Pat the cornflour mixture all over each in a thin, even layer.

  3. Heat the onion-infused oil in a wide frying pan over a medium heat and shallow fry the chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden, cooked through, the juices run clear and no pink meat remains. Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate.

  4. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, half of the zest, the sugar and honey with a pinch of salt, then pour into the pan and gently simmer for 2 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining 1 tsp cornflour and 1½ tsp water, then stir into the simmering sauce until lightly thickened and glossy; take off the heat. Slice the chicken into strips across the grain, then arrange on a plate, drizzling the lemon sauce on top. Finish with a light dusting of lemon zest and a scattering of green salad onions on top. Serve with steamed rice and greens, if liked.

Nutritional

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe

Energy

2,722kJ/ 648kcals

Fat

26g

Saturated Fat

3.6g

Carbohydrates

50g

Sugars

28.1g

Fibre

1.4g

Protein

52g

Salt

1.7g

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