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A warming takeout-style meal of chicken breast pieces with a light crispy coating smothered in a tangy lemon and black pepper sauce. Served up with stir fried noodles.
I love this for a high protein dinner (41g per serving).
Nicky’s Notes
If you love the warming peppery heat of black pepper beef or creamy peppercorn sauce then you’re going to love this.
The addition of the lemon adds a lovely tang (we also add some sugar so it’s a nice balanced tanginess – not sour at all).
I like to serve it up with some savoury stir fried egg noodles. For a takeaway-style meal, it’s a really good way to get some protein (41g) and fibre (4g) without going overboard on the calories (565 including noodles).
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for Lemon Pepper Chicken
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Chicken Breast
I like to use chicken breast for this recipe for the lean protein, but you can swap out for chicken thigh fillet if preferred.
Ingredients for Fried Noodles
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Dredge the chicken in seasoned cornflour and fry with spray oil. Meanwhile mix the sauce in a bowl. Fry the egg noodles in a separate pan with sesame oil, spring onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and white pepper. Remove chicken from frying pan and heat up the sauce in the pan, then add the chicken back in. Serve the glazed lemon pepper chicken with the stir fried noodles.
Recipe Tips
- Heating up the sauce separately from the chicken (then adding the chicken back in a the last minute) helps to retain more a more crisp coating on the chicken. However you can add the sauce directly in with the chicken if you don’t want to dirty another bowl.
- I use ready-cooked Chinese-style egg noodles. If you’d prefer to cook the noodles yourself, use 300g (10.5oz) of dried noodles for four people. Cook as per the pack instructions, then drain under cold water and toss in a teaspoon of sesame or neutral oil and then use as per the recipe.
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
I love to serve with fried noodles, but you could also go for:
Lemon Pepper Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 4 chicken breasts about 600g/1.3lbs, chopped into bitesize chunks
- 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Spray oil (I use about 15ml/1 tbsp altogether) I use avocado, but rapeseed or sunflower are also good
Sauce:
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp black pepper (use half if you don't want too much peppery heat)
- 60 ml (4 tbsp) low sodium soy sauce dark if possible, but use standard low sodium if you can't find it)
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock
Noodles:
- Spray oil (a couple of short bursts – about 3 ml)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 6 spring onions (scallions) sliced into 1 inch strips
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 600 g fresh egg noodles (Chinese-style noodles)
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ tsp white pepper
To serve:
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 2 spring onions (scallions) sliced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 lemon sliced into thin rounds
Instructions
- Place the cornflour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and mix together.3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Dredge the chicken pieces in the cornflour mixture to fully coat.4 chicken breasts
- Heat a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat and spray with spray oil.Spray oil (I use about 15ml/1 tbsp altogether)
- Add the chicken breasts, and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning often, until golden brown and cooked all the way through.
- While the chicken is cooking, mix the sauce. Add the garlic, ginger, pepper, soy sauce, lemon juice, cornflour (cornstarch) and sugar to a bowl or jug and mix together. Once the cornflour is absorbed, stir in the chicken stock. Put to one side.2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp black pepper, 60 ml (4 tbsp) low sodium soy sauce, 80 ml (1/3 cup) fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA), 5 tbsp sugar, 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock
- When the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and place in a bowl.
- Next, cook the noodles. Heat a seperate frying pan or wok over a medium heat. Add a spray of spray oil and the sesame oil. Then add the spring onions, garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds.Spray oil, 1 tsp sesame oil, 6 spring onions (scallions), 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger
- Add the egg noodles, soy sauce and white pepper and toss together. Heat for 3-4 minutes, tossing everything together regularly, until the noodles are hot. Turn the heat down to very low (or turn off the heat and place some foil over the top) to keep the noodles warm while you finish the chicken.600 g fresh egg noodles (Chinese-style noodles), 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 tsp white pepper
- Add the sauce to the pan you cooked the chicken in and bubble for 2 minutes, stirring often, until thickened.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and heat for a minute or two, stirring to coat the chicken, until the chicken is hot.
- Serve the chicken with the noodles, topped with spring onions, black pepper and sesame seeds. Decorate with lemon slices if you like.1 pinch black pepper, 2 spring onions (scallions), 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 lemon
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
🍲 More High Protein Dinner Ideas
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