I really love to discover recipes or create my own that "crack the code" of restaurant favorites. It's so much cheaper to make at home and much healthier. You don't have to worry that it's drenched in fat, sugar, calories, etc....because even if it is (wink, wink...because we all know sometimes it is ;) AT LEAST you know exactly what's going into it and what's going into your body.
So for that reason, I love this Lemon Chicken. It tastes exactly like what you would get at a Chinese restaurant (not authentic by any means...of course I'm referring to North-American Chinese food), you can cut out fat by sauteing the chicken in a minimal amount of oil, and even though the sauce is high in sugar you can control it and balance it out by adding lots of veggies to the Fried Rice, etc. Or you can just eat it and not worry about it.
Which is what I tend to do. Because it's really good.
*Recipes from Rachael Ray
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Serves 4
1 pound chicken breast or chicken thighs, cut into chunks
1/4 cup flour
Salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp white or rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
8 ounces (1 cup) prepared lemon curd (find in the jam aisle)
1/4 cup hot water
1 lemon, zested
2 green onions, finely chopped
In a wok or large skillet, heat oil to high heat. Toss chicken in flour, throw into hot pan and cook for 3 or 4 minutes until browned. Remove the chicken to a plate and reduce heat to medium.
Add the rice vinegar (stand back, the fumes are potent) to the pan and let evaporate. Then add chicken broth and scrape up all the chicken bits off the bottom of the pan. While simmering, loosen the lemon curd by mixing with the hot water (boiling is probably best). Add that to the pan, and keep simmering until all the chunks of lemon curd have melted and incorporated (will take a few minutes. Add the chicken back to the sauce, along with the lemon zest and green onions. Serve with Fried Rice.
Click here for printable version of Lemon Chicken
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THE RESULTS?
If you like Chinese-restaurant style Lemon Chicken you will love this. It tastes exactly the same. It's a little on the sweet side, but you can more lemon juice to balance that out. Just make this meal and your family will be amazed that you made it yourself and didn't call for take-out ;)
If you want to have a Chinese night, try these as well:
Fore more delicious Rachael Ray recipes check out Taste and Tell's Saturdays with Rachael Ray.