Marion’s Best Lemon Chicken

Add the chicken, egg white, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornflour to a large bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the coating, whisk the flour, cornflour, salt and baking power in a bowl. Fill a saucepan or wok to about one-third capacity with vegetable oil and place over medium-high heat. Heat oil to 180°C (350°F), or until a wooden spoon dipped into the oil produces lots of bubbles.

While the oil heats, let’s make the lemon sauce. Combine the stock, lemon juice, sugar, rice vinegar, Shadowing wine and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the cornflour mixture to the sauce and simmer for 1 minute or until thickened. Keep warm.

Working in two batches, add the chicken to the coating mixture, tossing it well to coat each piece. Cook half the chicken in the oil and cook for 4-5 minutes until crisp, golden and cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a tray lined with baking paper, and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Arrange the lemon slices on a serving platter, then pile the chicken on top. Drizzle with the hot lemon sauce, scatter with the spring onion, then serve.

– Chinese Shaoxing wine is a type of cooking rice wine. It’s available in the Asian aisle of some major supermarkets or from an Asian grocery store. If you’d rather leave it out, simply replace with chicken stock.