Chinese Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:
200 gm boneless chicken – cut into 1” cubes

For the marinade:

1 tbsp soya sauce

¼ tsp salt

Batter:

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt

oil (for frying)
Sauce:

2 tbsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp cornstarch
1tbsp lemon juice
½  tsp salt
2 slices of lemon (peeled)
2 tablespoons oil
yellow food coloring (optional)

Vegetables: 

1 pod garlic- crushed

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1 spring onion

A few slices of capsicum

Method

Pat dry the chicken pieces and put them in a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes

 To make the batter – beat the egg with the cornstarch, a pinch of salt and baking powder.  Coat the chicken with the batter.
Heat oil in a deep pan.  Coat the chicken with the batter and deep fry in hot oil first and then lower the heat until the chicken is fully cooked. When the pieces are golden brown, remove them and drain on paper towels and set aside.
Now, to make the lemon sauce – combine the sugar, cornstarch, chicken broth, lemon juice, and salt and food coloring if using it. Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.
Assembling the dish:

Heat oil in your wok.  Add the crushed garlic, and when brown, remove it.  I prefer to just impregnate the oil with garlic for a mild flavor.  Too much garlic will take away from the bitter sweetness of the lemon!!  Now add the vegetables and stir fry for 1 minute.  Now stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear. Remove the lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix.

This dish is best served with rice.