For those of us in Utah, did you see the awesome deal on chicken at Sprouts? I went there today and bought LOTS of chicken to crock pot and grill to have in my freezer. While deciding what to make for dinner with so much chicken, I remembered a recipe I LOVE for Chinese Lemon Chicken. I had some asparagus and knew that I had a combination that would be a winner.
I am all about anything sweet and sour so I knew this lemon chicken would be a delicious way to start out the week. The chicken is breaded in a simple breading with lemon pepper, the asparagus is quickly sauté and then it is all topped with a sweet, spicy lemon sauce that could be good just about on anything. If you need a new and fun chicken recipe, this is the one for you! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Ingredients
- CHICKEN:
- 4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. lemon pepper
- 1 cup flour
- Olive oil
- 2 bunches asparagus
- Cooked rice
- LEMON SAUCE:
- 1 1/2-2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- Salt as needed
- 2-3 Tbs. cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Cook your rice in a rice cooker and let rest until meal is ready to eat. Cut the fat from the chicken breasts and then cut chicken into 1-2 inch pieces. Place the chicken pieces into a gallon Ziploc bag. Add the salt, lemon pepper, and flour to the bag. Toss the chicken until it is fully coated with the flour and seasonings.
- In a saute pan, heat a thin layer of olive oil or canola oil. Once the oil is hot, with salad tongs, pick up the pieces of chicken and gently shake the excess flour back into the bag. Carefully place the chicken into the hot oil and continue to do until the pan is covered in chicken pieces. Cook the chicken on medium-high heat until golden brown on the bottom side. Turn the chicken to the other side and continue to cook until the other side is golden brown. Turn the heat to low heat and continue to let the chicken cook until the pieces are no longer pink in the center (about 5-8 minutes). Do this process again depending how large your pan is, making sure to add enough oil to the pan to not have the chicken stick.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and let the chicken rest on a plate while you make the rest of the dish. Rinse the asparagus and cut off the bottom couple inches. Cut the asparagus into thirds (or about 2 inch pieces) and get ready to cook. Heat the same pan up to medium heat again and add some more olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the asparagus pieces and let them saute until just tender (not mushy). While the asparagus is cooking, combine all of the lemon sauce ingredients together in a saute pan. Bring to a boil and let the sauce simmer until it begins to thicken and the sugar is dissolved. Once the sauce is cooked, remove from the heat and set aside. To the asparagus in the pan, add back the pieces of cooked chicken and warm through. Add some of the lemon sauce and serve over the rice. Serve with extra lemon sauce on the side.
