This easy, healthy Chinese Sticky Lemon Chicken recipe is so delicious featuring lemon and ginger sauce, you will like it better than take out and its ready in 30 minutes!
There’s not much that can ruin my healthy-eating intentions more than a sudden craving for Chinese take-out.
These cravings usually present themselves on busy evenings when I have nothing in the fridge and no willpower to actually cook anything anyway.
There’s a Chinese restaurant right up the street from our house and even though the place likely wouldn’t pass a health inspection, we love the convenience of calling in a take-out order and picking it up 10 minutes later.
The restaurant has a “special” that they hide on the menu in very small font, and we order it every single time.
It’s about $9 and it’s enough food to feed both of us with leftovers.
Just about everything that comes with the special is at least “fried” if not “deep fried,” which leaves me feeling very remorseful after we’re done eating.
I’ve started making at-home versions of some of our favorite take-out options, none of which leave me feeling greasy and full of regret.
I like to include some of these dishes in my meal plan each week to get ahead of any take-out cravings that may hit me in a moment of weakness.
Some of my favorite are my Skinny Szechuan Chicken, this 15 Minute Yakisoba Noodle Stir Fry, and this Thai Style Paradise Fried Rice.
If you ever have any trouble cooking rice, be sure to check out my post on my no-fail method for perfect rice!
This Sticky Chinese Lemon Chicken recipe will satiate your craving for greasy Chinese food without leaving you with eater’s remorse. It’s easy to make and on the dinner table in less than 30 minutes!
Chinese Sticky Lemon Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 pound boneless - skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch - divided
- Zest of half of one lemon
Instructions
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and let marinate for 15 minutes.
- Place the corn starch in a large shallow dish. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer to the cornstarch. Toss well to coat.
- Place the reserved marinade next to the stove. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water.
- Set a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and stir-fry for 7 to 9 minutes, until cooked through.
- Add the reserved marinade to the pan and immediately turn the heat down to low. Stir in the lemon zest and cornstarch-water mixture. Once the sauce has thickened (about 30-60 seconds) turn the heat off.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and scallion; serve with white rice.
Nutrition
Made this tonight and added some veggies to the pan with the chicken. I also added a little honey at the end because I was expecting a sweeter sauce. The sauce really complimented the veg well, and next time i may skip the chicken altogether. I don’t think it needed it. Good recipe!
Made this tonight was good, I’m sure it would be even better with the full amount of ginger if my ginger bottle hadn’t fooled me into thinking that the bottle was full. Still was good! Will definitely make again.
Could the 15 minutes marinade be used as a cooking liquid transforming this into a slow cooker recipe?
Hi, Lenora – I haven’t tried this, but if you do be sure to let us know how it turned out!