Chinese lemon chicken

• 300gBasmati rice
• 2Lemons
• 3 tbspSugar
• 1 cubeChicken stock cube, made up to 200ml
• ¼ tspGround turmeric
• 7 tbspCornflour
• 600gChicken breast fillets
• 1Egg
• 150mlVegetable oil, for shallow frying
• 4Spring onions

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1. 1

   Rinse the rice and boil it in plenty of salted water for 12 minutes. Drain and cover with the lid.

   15 min, mostly hands-off

2. 2

   Meanwhile, put the zest and juice of the lemons, the sugar, stock and turmeric in a small pan. Mix 1 tbsp of the cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water. Bring the lemon mixture to a simmer, stir in the cornflour and bubble for 1 to 2 minutes, until thick and glossy. Keep warm.

3. 3

   Slice the chicken into finger-thick strips. Beat the egg with a pinch of salt in one bowl and put the rest of the cornflour in another. Dip the strips in the egg, then toss in the cornflour until well coated.

4. 4

   Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken in three batches for 4 to 5 minutes each, turning, until deep golden, crisp and cooked through with no pink in the middle. Drain on kitchen paper.

5. 5

   Slice the spring onions. Pile the chicken on the rice, pour over the warm lemon sauce and scatter with the spring onions.