Lee Lum's Lemon Chicken

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon gin or 1 tablespoon vodka
• 3 egg whites, beaten until frothy
• 1 cup water chestnut flour (or powder)
• peanut oil or salad oil (for frying)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 cup chicken broth (fresh or canned)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon msg (i always leave it out) (optional)
• 1 lemon (juice and grated rind)
• 3 small carrots, julienned
• 1/2 large green pepper, julienned
• 3 green onions, julienned
• 3 canned pineapple rings, drained & shredded (or about 1/2 cup shredded pineapple)
• 1 (1 ounce) bottle lemon extract
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

Recipe

• 1 place the chicken breasts in a shallow dish.
• 2 combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and gin or vodka, and pour over the chicken; toss to coat and let sit for 30 minutes.
• 3 preheat the oven to 200.
• 4 beat the egg whites, drain the chicken (discarding the marinade), and toss to coat.
• 5 pour the water-chestnut flour on a plate and dredge chicken completely in the flour.
• 6 arrange the shredded lettuce attractively on a platter.
• 7 to cook the chicken, pour the peanut oil into a skillet (use an electric skillet if you have one) to a depth of 1/2 inch and heat to 350 degrees.
• 8 add the chicken in batches, browning one side, then turning to brown the other; drain and keep warm in the oven if necessary.
• 9 either while you're cooking the chicken or afterwards (while keeping the chicken warm), in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, rice vinegar, broth, the cornstarch dissolved in the 2 tablespoons water, the msg if desired, the lemon juice and the rind; bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
• 10 carefully and neatly slice the chicken crosswise into 1" slices, then using a large spatula, place attractively on top of the lettuce.
• 11 add the vegetables and pineapple to the sauce; remove from the heat, stir in extract, pour over the chicken, and serve immediately.