Lemon Chicken Stir Fry- in 20 minutes

Sometimes it’s hard to think about what to make on a weekday when you are tired from work or have after school activities. This lemon chicken stir fry is a quick and easy dish that you can cook quickly for when you are short on time.

The ingredients are simple and easy to find. The sauce for this lemon chicken stir fry comes from marinated chicken, nothing extra. Best part about this dish is that it can be made into bigger batches so you can have leftovers for lunches for schools or work.

Stir fry is my mom’s go to dishes when she needs to have a quick dinner. She always manage to get dinner onto the table within 30-40 minutes. Stir fry dishes are quick to make but you do need some prep time to get all the ingredients ready to cook as stir fry can be done within 10 minutes. However, stir fry are great on rice so I only need to prepare 1-2 stir fry dishes and it pairs so well with rice.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken thighs (1.5 lb boneless thighs or breast)

Marinade

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn starch
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp sugar

Vegetables

• 1 medium onion chopped
• ½- medium lemon sliced seeds taken out depends on how sour you like it
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1-3 Thai chili cut optional
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2-4 sprig cilantro chopped

Chicken: If you ever had lemon chicken at a Chinese restaurant you would know that chicken and lemon goes well together. The chicken is light in flavour and compliments the lemon flavour. I chose dark meat for this dish but it can be done with white meat. I would recommend marinating for a bit less time and also cook for slightly less time to avoid overcooking. I also chose not to fry the chicken in batter because I want to keep this light and also quick.

Lemon: Lemons gives the dish a nice refreshing flavour. The seeds should be taken out of lemon to prevent bitterness as the lemon cooks. You only need the lemon slices as the juice would be too sour for this dish. The lemon slices will naturally releases the juices as it cooks.

Onions: Onions are very versatile and when cooked down it’s quite soft and flavourful. I would suggest using white onions, I find their flavour to be less pungent. When white onions are cooked, their flavour are milder which compliments the chicken flavour.

Cilantro: Cilantro is one of those herbs that can be hit or miss with people. Some people love it but others not so much. Fun fact: some people are born with a gene that will make cilantro taste like soap. However in this dish, the cilantro compliments the chicken perfectly. It’s definitely worthwhile to add it, but if you don’t like it, omit it.

Thai chili: I love spicy food, so I love putting in chili. However, if you are not a fan of spicy food, then you can reduce the amount. I wouldn’t recommend omitting the chili. The reason is that the slight spiciness helps to compliment the sour flavour. It gives a subtle spicy flavour that isn’t strong or overpowering.

Garlic: The garlic is optional in this dish but if you like garlic, you can add into this dish. However I love garlic. It is one of my most used ingredients in my cooking. I love the taste of garlic but it can be easily burnt so I always put it in with other ingredients to prevent burning. Once burnt, it tastes bitter and not good in dishes. The garlic is optional in this dish but if you like garlic, you should add into this dish.

This dish can be done in less than 20 minutes. The sauce is perfect over rice. I usually like to place the chicken and sauce onto the rice and mix.

How to make it

1. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces
2. Marinade with soy sauce, dark, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, corn starch and a bit of salt. Mix together and set aside. Marinade about 10 minutes
3. Cut scallions. Slice onions and garlic. Chop up the Thai chili.
4. Slice the lemons and get rid of the seeds. Also chop up some cilantro.
5. In a pan, put some oil and heat on medium high, put in the garlic, the chicken and stir fry 2 minutes. Add in scallions and onions and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add in chili and lemon slices. Cook until chicken is cooked about 3-4 minutes. Top off with cilantro and serve with rice.

Pro tip:

• Take the lemon seeds out so it’s not bitter
• Recommend to use chicken thighs instead of breast because it has more flavour. However, it’s your personal preference. Use chicken breast if you don’t like thighs.
• Peeling garlic can be tiresome, buy either pre-peeled garlic or use minced garlic if you are short on time.
• Cut the chicken into bite size pieces so it cooks faster.
• Always stir fry on medium to medium high to prevent burning of ingredients.
• Add about 1-2 tablespoon of oil into the pan. If you are using a non stick pan, use less oil.
• After cooking, take out the lemon slices. If you don’t take it out, it will start to taste bitter when heated up again.

Lemon Chicken stir fry

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Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken thighs (1.5 lb boneless thighs or breast)

Marinade

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn starch
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp sugar

Vegetable

• 1 medium onion chopped
• ½- medium lemon sliced seeds taken out depends on how sour you like it
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1-3 Thai chili cut optional
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2-4 sprig cilantro chopped

Instructions

• Chop the chicken into bite size pieces
• Marinade with soy sauce, dark, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, corn starch and a bit of salt. Mix together and set aside. Marinade about 10 minutes
• Cut scallions. Slice onions and garlic. Chop up the Thai chili.
• Slice the lemons and get rid of the seeds. Also chop up some cilantro.
• In a pan, put some oil and heat on medium high, put in the garlic, the chicken and stir fry 2 minutes. Add in scallions and onions and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add in chili and lemon slices. Cook until chicken is cooked about 3-4 minutes. Top off with cilantro and serve with rice.