Clear Lemon Chicken

One of the dishes I used to order when I, together with my maiden family, eat in a Chinese restaurant is Lemon Chicken. Since dear Tita Mila (Mark's aunt) stayed with us during the holidays, I wanted to cook something not ordinary like fried food. So aside from the chicken adobo I first cooked, I made another dish using chicken. But lemon chicken's supposed to be yellow in color right? Well, this version isn't yellow because I wasn't able to buy yellow food coloring.

Lemon Chicken

Instead of boneless chicken thighs, I used drumsticks since they were the only cuts available in our ref. Will the taste matter if not thighs are used? Fresh ginger was also supposed to be used for the lemon sauce but I don't have stock at that time. I marinated the chicken overnight using the marinade ingredients below.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cubed or cut into 3 in. pcs
vegetable oil for deep-frying

MARINADE:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp powdered chicken base (bouillon)
1/2 tsp white pepper (I didn't have white pepper and used black instead - I don't know yet the difference)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

LEMON SAUCE:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 fresh lemon, sliced thin
1 tsp lemon extract

PROCEDURE:
1. Combine marinade ingredients and marinate chicken in ref for at least 2 hrs.
2. Drain off all the liquid.
3. Deep fry chicken for 3 minutes.
4. Drain on paper towels.
5. Prepare lemon sauce. Stir the cornstarch into the 1/4 cup of water to dissolve.
6. In a sauce pan, combine remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
7. Stir in starch/water mixture and continue cooking until the sauce is thickened.
8. Serve chicken with sauce.

FOOD CRITICS: Mark and Tita Mila (Mark's aunt)
VERDICT: "Masarap naman" - Tita Mila
              "Lasang lemon chicken naman pero kulang lang sa color" - Mark