Crispy Honey Lemon Chicken

Chinese Honey Lemon Chicken is a popular take out dish that you can make at home in less than 30 minutes. Each bite of chicken is perfectly crispy and filled with citrusy goodness!

Ingredients for Chinese Lemon Chicken

• Chicken thighs: For the best juicy chicken, I prefer thighs but you can use breasts

• Cornstarch: This helps give the chicken that crispy coating

• Soy sauce: I use regular soy sauce, but you can use tamari or coconut aminos if you have any allergies to soy

• Sesame oil: This gives this dish an authentic taste but you can sub in olive or vegetable oil as well

•  Lemon juice and zest: Lemon gives the dish that vibrant and tangy flavor

• Garlic and pepper: To enhance the flavour of this dish

• Honey: This will balance out the lemon flavour for a sweet and savory component and you can also sub in sugar

Serve this with rice or rice noodles and a side of greens for a better-than-takeout situation that will have you craving seconds!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christie Chapman (@christies.lovestory)

Crispy Honey Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken thigh (boneless, skinless)

• 2 cloves garlic crushed

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 3 tbsp soy sauce reduced sodium

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp lemon zest

• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

  SAUCE

  • 1 lemon juiced and zested

  • 1 tsp black pepper

  • 1 clove garlic crushed

  • 1/4 cup honey (or sugar)

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce

  • 3 tbsp butter

  • 1 tbsp water

  • 1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Cut chicken thighs into cubes and add the soy sauce, pepper, garlic, cornstarch, oil, and lemon zest and set aside to marinate for 10-30 min. If the mixture isn’t wet enough, add 1-2 tbsp of water.

2. Heat up your oil in a large non-stick skillet on high heat. You will need about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of any frying oil and make sure it gets to about 325 degrees F before you add your chicken. To test this, drop a small piece of chicken in and if it starts sizzling then its ready. In a separate plate, add 1/2 cup of cornstarch. Coat chicken pieces fully in the cornstarch mixture. This extra step will allow for an extra crispy coating!

3. Once you have hot oil, fry the chicken in small batches so they have enough room to cook and get extra crispy! They should only take 3-4 minutes per side or be 165 degrees F for the internal temperature. Place chicken on a plate lined with a paper towel when finished to drain the excess oil. 

4. To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, corn starch slurry (just mix the water and corn starch in a separate bowl), garlic, pepper, lemon juice, zest, butter and sugar in a pan until combined. Cook on medium heat until bubbly and when the sauce has thickened, put the heat on low. 

5. Then add in your crispy chicken and toss them until fully coated in the tangy lemon sauce! Top with sesame seeds and green onions and enjoy!

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Serve with rice, chow mien noodles, broccoli, or cauliflower rice instead of rice noodles

• Swap the lemon juice and zest for orange to make an orange chicken version of this dish

• You can use chicken breast instead of thigh, just reduce the cooking time!

• Swap soy sauce for coconut aminos

• You can swap the honey for white sugar or even brown sugar

• Instead of deep frying, try cooking the chicken in the air fryer before adding the sauce

Join the Club!

If you loved this recipe, please let me know in the comments and come check out my instagram and TikTok pages. How about signing up for my newsletter. Join thousands of others who receive my weekly email, including exclusive newsletter recipes, meal plans, special subscribers discount codes and so much more! I share what I’m up to, what products I’m loving and what is inspiring me each week. I’m biased, but it really is the greatest place on the internet!