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You are here: Home / Chicken Recipes / Chinese-inspired Lemon Orange Chicken

Chinese-inspired Lemon Orange Chicken

By Connie Veneracion
Chunks of chicken fillets lightly coated in starch, deep fried then tossed in a sticky sauce made with lemon juice, orange juice and sugar. Chinese-style lemon orange chicken is so good you'll be asking for seconds!
Chinese-inspired Lemon Orange Chicken Served Over Rice
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Fried Chicken, Lemon, Orange
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Marinating time 8 hrs
Total Time 8 hrs 30 mins
Servings 6 people
Author Connie Veneracion

Ingredients

  • 500 grams chicken thigh fillets skin on
  • salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
  • ¼ cup orange juice freshly squeezed
  • ¼ teaspoon grated orange zest
  • ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • cooking oil
  • ¼ cup corn starch

Instructions

  • Wipe the chicken thigh fillets and cut into chunks. Toss with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and all of the pepper. Marinate in the fridge for eight hours or overnight.
  • Place lemon juice, orange juice, zests, ½ teaspoon salt and all of the sugar in a sauce pan. Boil, uncovered, for ten minutes or until reduced by half and syrupy. Set aside to cool.
    Reducing lemon orange sauce on the stovetop
  • In a pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least three inches.
  • Place the chicken in a resealable bag, add the starch, seal and shake to coat each piece lightly.
    Frying floured chicken thigh fillets
  • Over medium heat, fry the chicken in batches until lightly browned, about four minutes per batch.
  • Turn up the heat to high, refry the chicken for one to two minutes until golden and crisp.
  • Place the chicken a mixing bowl. Drizzle in the cooled sauce and toss to coat each piece well.
    Tossing fried chicken fillets in reduced and cooled lemon orange sauce
  • Serve the lemon orange chicken immediately.

Connie’s Notes

There’s lemon chicken and there’s orange chicken. Both are found in the menu of many Chinese restaurants but, curiously, neither is a traditional Chinese dish.
Lemon chicken was the specialty of the former Pearl’s Chinese Restaurant at 148 West 48th Street in New York City and a creation of a chef named Lee Lum.
Orange chicken is American too. Developed by a chef named Andy Kho in 1987, it is reputedly inspired by the flavors of the Hunan Province in China.
We love both lemon chicken and orange chicken at home, so I decided to combine the two in one delicious dish.
Chinese-inspired Lemon Orange Chicken in Serving Bowl
Updated from a recipe originally published in January 4, 2020
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January 18, 2021: See more in Chicken Recipes, Fried, Lunch / Dinner, Main Courses

About Connie Veneracion

Hello there! Welcome to Renaissance.Mom. If you’re wondering why I write the blog’s name with a dot before “mom”… That’s so you’ll remember what to type on your browser. There is no .com or .net. It’s Renaissance.Mom where good food is cooked better. (Read more)

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