Ari loves chicken. It was the first meat we could get her to eat, followed closely by hot dogs. She can be a very picky eater – it’s not taste that’s the problem, though, but texture. Because of this, I’m always on the lookout for new recipes for chicken.
This week, I thought I’d try Rachael Ray’s Crispy Chinese Lemony Chicken. It’s from her Budget Meal section, but it sure doesn’t taste like a budget meal. I made a few changes to the recipe to better fit what I wanted to do. The original recipe calls for plain white rice and a dipping sauce. I think plain white rice is a sin, and we generally don’t do dipping sauces (Ari won’t dip anything, not even fries in ketchup), but I wanted to make sure we had all the flavors. What I did was put all the ingredients for the dip into the rice.
It turned out really well, and Ari said that if I made it again she’d eat it. That’s a winner to me! 
Crispy Chinese Lemon Chicken with Lemon Rice
3/4 c rice
juice of half a lemon plus enough chicken stock to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup unflavored breadcrumbs
Zest 1 lemon
1 tbsp (about a 1-inch piece) fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp (a palmful) sesame seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat with the rice, soy sauce, honey and lemon juice/stock mixture. Bring the liquid to a boil then cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
While the rice is cooking, put a large skillet over medium-high heat with 4 tablepsoon of vegetable. In a large, re-sealable plastic bag, mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, ginger, sesame seeds, some salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the bag and toss well to evenly coat the chicken (give each piece a good press with the crumbs to make sure the coating sticks).
Put the chicken pieces in the hot skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 7-8 minutes. Cook the chicken in batches if you need to – place the cooked chicken on a paper-towel lined plate and cover them with aluminum foil to keep them warm.
When all the chicken is cooked, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the scallions. Serve the chicken with the rice, and a nice salad.
