Title: Deep-Fried Lemon Chicken
Categories: Poultry Party Blank
Yield: 2 Servings

1		Green bell pepper
1		Red bell pepper
1	lb	Chicken breast, boneless
BATTER
1/2	c	Flour
1/4	c	Cornstarch
1/4	ts	Salt
1/2	ts	Baking powder, double-acting
1/2	ts	Vegetable oil
SAUCE
1		Lemon
3	tb	Sugar
1/2	c	Water
1	ts	Cornstarch
2	ts	Water
		Parsley sprigs

Wash and seed the peppers. Cut each one into strips about 2 x 1/4 inches. Cut the boneless chicken breast into strips about 3 x 1/2 inches.

Prepare the batter by mixing in a bowl the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, water and oil. Stir until smooth.

Cut half of the lemon into thin semicircular slices. Prepare the lemon sauce by squeezing the juice from the other half of the lemon and combining in a cup with the sugar and water. Stir well.

Combine about 1 teaspoon cornstarch and about 2 teaspoon water in a second cup. This mixture will be used later to thicken the lemon sauce. Dip each piece of chicken in the batter and let the excess drip back into the bowl.

Deep fry the chicken in small batches. It is best to use an electric deep fryer, but if this is not available, heat about 1 quart of vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan until it is very hot. Then add about 5 pieces of chicken at a time to the oil and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes or until a golden brown crust forms. Check once a minute to see if the pieces are sticking together, and if so, separate them. After each batch is finished, set aside on a paper towel to drain off the excess oil.

Cook the lemon sauce by pouring the lemon-sugar mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch-water mixture and stir until thickened.

To please the eye as well as the palate, mix up the chicken and colored pepper pieces and pile on a plate. Top with sprigs of parsley and place the lemon slices around the outside of the plate. Put the hot lemon sauce in a cup so that people can pour it over their chicken just before eating, to keep it crispy.

Serve with rice. Don't forget to start the rice so that it will be done at the same time as the chicken.

A nice-looking dish for company. The deep-fried chicken pieces can also be served as party snacks instead of junk food.

NOTES:

* Crispy chunks of chicken in sweet lemon sauce. Yield: Serves 2-3.

: Difficulty: With an electric deep fryer, easy; without one, moderate. : Time: 45 minutes. : Precision: Measure the batter ingredients.

: Andy Tanenbaum : Dept. of Math and Computer Sci., Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, HOLLAND : ast@cs.vu.nl seismo!mcvax!cs.vu.nl!ast

: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust

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