January 05, 2005
Recipe: Orange-lemon Chicken
Article Summary: Recipe: Orange-lemon Chicken
A delicious combination of chicken breasts with orange and lemon with just a touch of chilli that is delicious served both hot and cold.My friends are always bugging me for "quick n' easy" recipes. Then I give them a stir-fried chicken recipe, for instance, and they come back to me and say, "Hey, that chicken took me half an hour to chop, and the two tablespoons of garlic was a pain to mince." So I'll show them how I mince garlic in 10 seconds with my Chinese cleaver, and they say, "if we tried that, we'd lose our fingers". What is a chef to do? Tell them to watch more Yan Can Cook, that's what! See how the man handles his cleaver.
Having said that, I will offer this recipe with the caveat that it is quick n' easy to make, but if you're slow at wielding your knife, the preparation work may slow you down. But hey, it's a nice dish that's a change from the hot n' spicy Thai stir-fries I'm so fond of. I know Swati wants this recipe really bad after she had dinner at Shiok.
This dish combines two citrus flavours - orange and lemon - with chicken breasts and just a touch of chilli that brings out the full flavours of the orange and lemon. It goes well with rice, or fried rice if you prefer. Wait, the chilli-basil fried rice recipe I gave earlier may be a good companion to this too. (Beware: it will be a strongly-flavoured meal. If you prefer French food, leave now. ;)
This is a real photo of what it looks like:
And here's the recipe...
What you need
Boneless skinless chicken breasts - 150 gm
Peanut (groundnut) oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic - chopped - 2 tsp
Ginger - chopped - 2 tsp
Orange juice - 4 tbsp
Lemon juice (lemon, not lime) - 2 tbsp
Orange rind (zest) - 2 tsp
Lemon rind - 1 tsp
Light soy sauce - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Red chilli paste - 1/2 to 1 tsp (depending on your taste)
Spring onions (scallions) - chopped - 1 tbsp
Chicken stock or water - 4 tbsp (1/4 cup)
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Cornflour (cornstarch) and water mixture - 2 tsp cornstarch to which 1 tbsp cold water has been added and mixed well.
How to make it
Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips. Mince both the orange and lemon rind.
Heat a wok till it's nice and hot. Add the peanut oil and swirl it around the surface. 10 seconds later, add the ginger and garlic.
When the ginger and garlic turn fragrant, add the chicken strips. Wait one minute for the chicken to sear, flip the pieces with a spatula and let the other side sear for one more minute.
Now add all the other ingredients except the spring onions and the cornflour mixture. Bring it to a boil, simmer for another 2 minutes, then stir in the cornflour slurry and mix well. The sauce should thicken in about 10 seconds. Taste for the flavour balance, adding either sugar (more sweetness), orange/lemon juice (more tartness), or light soy sauce (more saltiness) as required.
Quickly add the spring onions, stir once, and serve on to a warm plate.
Chef's notes
This dish can also be served as a cold starter. Just make it less saucy.
If you're living in a tropical country and all you can find is round limes instead of lemons, cut the quantity of juice by half so that you don't accidentally kill the dish. :)
If the orange juice you've got is a sweetened variety (quite common in India), leave the sugar out and make the dish. Add more sugar only if the dish needs it.
The chilli paste actually intensifies some of the flavours in this dish. It's not there to make it "spicy'. Trust me on this one.
Light Soy sauce is one ingredient whose saltiness can vary a lot. Check your brand's saltiness and then adjust. If in doubt, add less. You can always add more later if needed.
My recipe has a decidedly gingery background taste to it. If that puts you off, cut the ginger by half and make it.
(If you liked this article, please do visit Shiok, my restaurant in Bangalore or recommend it to a friend.)
27 comments
In the U.S., most grocery stores sell a lot of pre-sliced and pre-cut stuff, so it's great for someone who doesn't have the time to prep their food. For instance, they can get a whole jar of garlic that had already been minced.
The same is true for food distributors who supply to restaurants. We visited a local supplier the other day, and they had a very wide selection of vegetables. One of their service is supplying vegetables that have already been processed and prepped. We found out that one of the major Asian chain restaurants buy 80% of their vegetables already processed and prepped. Saves on labor costs. The restaurant chain does over $5.5 million in sales per restaurant, and they have over 100 across the U.S.
Posted by Dennis on January 5, 2005 08:34 PM http://asianvegan.blogspot.com
Marion, I did use a wink smiley on that bit, so I wasn't being dead serious. Hey, I'm a South-east Asian cook, so compared to the strong flavours there, French food is a bit on the "not so strongly flavoured" side. :)
Dennis, that's interesting to know, especially about the restaurant chain. Here in India, labour is much cheaper, and so it makes more sense for us to get people to do it.
Also, food (especially vegetables)that's already been processed and cut needs to be cooked quickly. Supermarket pre-cut stuff has probably been sitting there for a while, and in my opinion, will never have the flavour of veggies that are freshly cut.
Posted by Madhu (Ze Chef) on January 5, 2005 08:43 PM http://shiokfood.com/notes
Yeah, I definately agree that it's fresher if it's not pre-cut. The supplier does vacuum pack the produce, but I still think it's not quite the same.
Posted by Dennis on January 6, 2005 01:19 AM http://asianvegan.blogspot.com
Madhu-
What's with the "Madhu-bashing" on AsianVegan.blogspot? I don't recall reading anything on your website bashing thoer style, or was it your comments?? Now, that would give you fodder for your next post.
http://asianvegan.blogspot.com/
Posted by Raj on January 8, 2005 08:27 PM http://www.rajeshkrishnamurthy.com
Mmmm... looks delicious
Posted by Alex Murphy on March 20, 2005 01:47 AM
Madhu , the dish looks just awesome and while reading the recipe could imagine how its going to taste.................just WONDERFUL.......! ! ! It's my kind of taste.....little sweet...little tangy....
THANKS
Posted by sumanjit kaur tripathy on April 29, 2005 08:23 PM
MADHU ,
Finally tried the dish last nite...!! It was wonderful ! Though i didnt get the lovely orange colour , like the pic on this page . Maybe , because i used dark soya sauce ( Though i used half the amount ).
THANKS
Posted by sumanjit kaur tripathy on May 13, 2005 03:37 PM
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We cooked this with friends tonight and it was absolutely terrific. Made the basil fried rice, too, spicing it up with habanero peppers. Everybody loved it.
Petra in Hamburg, Germany
Posted by Petra on June 29, 2005 03:52 AM http://blog.lebensunfaehig.org/foodfreak
Hi,
when i saw the pic of The Orange-Lemon Chicken,i knew the taste would be great!!I did cooked the same dish but still i felt something missing.I'm gonna try it.Thank you for sharing those recipes.Hopefully could get more recipes like Beriani Rice.Coz,i never got the best recipe in my town.
Posted by Maria on July 11, 2005 08:50 AM
Dear Madhu,
I happened to come across this recipe by chance while surfing the net...very interesting i must say. I have a son (aged 11) who enjoys eating and cooking. trying to make him a little independent in the kitchen as i am always away on my busy schedule. Can you suggest simple dishes that can be prepared by children, especially with chicken. He can cook rice and fried rice. Thanks.
Posted by leela menon on October 16, 2005 09:50 PM http://googles
Sounds so nummy, I can taste it bout now. Just throw a little pasta into the mix and that chicken might just jump out at you.
regards,
B.
http://valueprep.com/lemon_law.html
Posted by Brian on November 21, 2005 06:56 AM http://valueprep.com/lemon_law.html
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Posted by dictation digital recorder on December 2, 2005 05:14 AM http://recognition-voice.sherpabank.com/music-transcriber/
Yummy! Looks fantastic and I can not wait to try to make it myself. regards.
Posted by anders on December 7, 2005 08:52 AM
Hi, I'm American, but it seems to me that 150 gm chicken is a very small amount like 1/4 pound of chicken. Could you add the Americanized recipe version? I don't mean to be politically incorrect. I'm just ignorant. Thanks. I've looked everywhere for a recipe and can't wait to try this one.
Posted by Lori on December 24, 2005 01:40 AM
Madhu, This is my first visit to your blog. And this recipe is the one that made me read many of the entries in your blog. I like Malaysian and Singaporean food so very much (I'm an Indian, living in USA). But all attempts at making them so far have turned blah!
I'm going to try your recipe for Orange-lemon Chicken and Chili-Basil fried rice soon.
When we (me and my DH) come to Bangalore next time, I'll visit your restaurant. Do you make the lovely roti-canai or roti-pratta there?
Posted by Kay on January 3, 2006 07:56 PM http://towardsabettertomorrow.blogspot.com/
What is the right way to cut boneless chicken ? Is it better to buy boneless chicken and then cut it. Or order chicken legs/breasts and cut it from the bone ? Any special knife required ?
Madhu waiting for more posts here on this food site of yours. Although I'm also enjoying the ones on Mad Mans world especially the outsourcing one.
We miss you, please post more.
Kim
Posted by Kim on March 24, 2006 04:30 PM http://whazzupmumbai.blogspot.com
Terrific recipe.. Am wondering, if I should prepare it myself or first try it at your place...
Posted by tony of Bachelor cooking on September 13, 2006 06:43 PM http://anthonyskitchen.blogspot.com
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Posted by pwhmda xqiyhgtz on October 16, 2006 07:23 PM http://www.khejyzdb.auebwldy.com
Man, I like your writing style....it's like a conversation flowing rather than a boring narration of recepie telling like in any other website. Sounds very honest(the tips et all) and it gives that personal touch, as if you are really talking to us. Ofcourse, like everybody has acknowledged, your cooking style is also very good!!
And, I am not very big on compliments and this is the first ever time I am writing anything like this :)....straight from the heart!!!
Posted by Preiti on November 3, 2006 09:47 AM
dude...is that even french food? cuz im doin a report on french food and that pic looks good but idk if i should use it cuz idk if its french or japanese
Posted by Nakia on May 14, 2007 09:29 PM
Tried ur recipe....it came out great....Chicken is one of my favorite dish....I enjoyed....My husband loved it....
Posted by Divya on August 8, 2007 03:23 AM http://5starChef.blogspot.com
this looks really interesting!!
my mom makes something very similar but without orange and soy sauce.
what is the difference between lime and lemon?!
used to think they are synonymous!
googled it...but still confused. :(
Posted by Saikat on September 9, 2007 11:25 AM http://www.saikatbiswas.com
hey thanks a lot for sharing this awesome recipe...
we made the dish last night at our girls hostel (the food here sucks!) and while it looked nothing like the picture, it tasted out of this world!!
if i ever get to bangalore, i know where i want to have dinner and drinks...
ure a peach to share this info...thanks again
Posted by Natasha Kaushal on January 18, 2008 03:17 AM http://www.natasha-bellona.blogspot.com
Orange-lemon Chicken is a Hot dish to cook.
Posted by sharlin kaur on March 29, 2008 12:23 PM http://www.indiancolor.info
Yummy Let me try then I will reply with my best response :)
Posted by Sharlin kaur on November 24, 2008 05:45 PM http://www.spideronweb.com
Hay this is the first time i came to ur blog and was happy and sad immidiately. Sad coz u dont have a resto in Mumbai but the next time i visit Bangalore i'll make sure i eat at ur place. Happy coz i got what i was looking for.
I was looking for info on deveining prawns and then i saw this tempting chicken... my imagination started to fly and could immidiately feel the taste in mu mouth.
Wish u luck
Theia
Posted by Theia on June 18, 2009 01:49 PM
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do you mean to say that french cuisine is flavorless?
Posted by marion on January 5, 2005 08:28 PM