Thanks to my new coworker (and friend :)), Danielle…I was able to make this little number tonight! I was telling her about my blog last week and as she was trying to find something to make for dinner tonight, she made a request for a spicy chicken salad. Now, granted these weren’t served on a salad, they easily could be (and might I suggest, with some buffalo blue cheese dressing). So, although I didn’t deliver on the Spicy Chicken Salad, I did come up with some amazing Spicy Chicken Tenders that I will certainly make regularly, and hopefully you will too 🙂
Let me point out that these are a healthier version of a chicken tender. There are several recipes out there that require deep frying, pan frying, a lot of oil, sugar, etc…but I wanted to keep these as clean and scrumptious as possible!
So, if you’re looking for a cheat meal kind of recipe, I suggest you look elsewhere, otherwise get to reading and to cooking!
RECIPE:
Serving Size: 4 People (or 2 hungry people)
Ingredients
2 (about 1-1.5 lbs.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup sriracha hot sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 inch peeled and grated ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1½ cups panko bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
Honey
Cooking Spray
Instructions
- In a resealable bag, container, or bowl combine the Sriracha, rice vinegar, minced garlic and ginger
- Slice the chicken breasts diagonally into 6 strips and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix to coat in the Sriracha marinade, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours (the longer you marinade the spicier it could be)
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Set up your dredging station by filling one small plate or bowl with the flour, a second with whisked egg and 1 Tbsp of water, and lastly a bowl or plate with the bread crumbs
- Taking one chicken strip from the marinade at a time, shake and/or wipe off some of the excess Sriracha then dip to coat in the flour, then the egg and lastly the panko crumbs. You don’t have to wipe off if you like a little extra kick!
- Once finished, line a baking sheet with tin foil and coat with cooking spray and place chicken tenders in a single layer (you can also, instead put a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet to avoid the tenders from sticking)
- (Optional) Once layered, lightly sprinkle with honey. I actually meant to put in the marinade and forgot! I will update once I try that, but I just put honey on the top and it tasted great!
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (mine took 15 minutes).
- (Optional) Turn the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes on each side…Watch carefully to avoid them from burning. When they get golden brown, pull them out, and cool slightly before biting!
Serving Suggestion:
I served with a Honey Mustard dipping sauce and Ketchup, but you can also serve with more Sriracha (for you Sriracha lovers). I also strongly suggest a beer, but then again we’re keeping this a healthy meal so I opted for tea 🙂
CHEF IN THE WORKS 