Sunday, July 22, 2012

SUNDAY COOK: CRISPY CHICKEN

Ok - so not the MOST original Sunday Cook recipe for you tonight! 

BUT!

It could STILL change your life! For the better - of course!

Hamburgers and fries last week....Crispy Chicken today....What kind of eating habits do these people have?! you must be thinking to yourself!

Well, actually a pretty good one. But we DO have a real soft spot for fried food! We are ok with that because we KNOW that we don't go out to eat AND we don't eat fast food - EVER! Plus - we burn off a ton of calories during work AND have you read this article about what REALLY causes heart disease?

So there you go! And here we go with todays Sunday Cook recipe.....


THE best!

CRISPY CHICKEN

chicken breast cut up into strips or chunks - depending on the use
egg
cornstarch

Spices and herbs can be added to the egg or constarch for extra flavour. If it were just Derek and I, I'd add cayenne pepper since we like spicy.

The amounts depend on how much you want to make - pretty simple.


Beat egg (s).


Place cornstarch in a bowl or large bag. Coat chicken pieces in egg and then place into cornstarch. Shake off excess.


Heat oil - we only use Grapeseed oil for frying - to fairly hot temp. Place chicken pieces in oil.


Turn as required and continue cooking until crispy texture and golden brown colour. Make sure you have enough oil - the cornstarch starts to bubble in the oil. If you don't have enough oil it will start to burn as will the chicken. In this top picture I added more oil 1/2 way through cooking to stop this from happening.


The BEST crispy chicken you've EVER had. Always crispy without fail! 

So - why am I sharing this little trick with you that seems so simple. Well, first off all I tried a ton of 'fried chicken' recipes before this one. Most use flour and I just didn't get the same foolproof crispiness that I get with cornstarch. 

The second reason is because crispy chicken is so VERSATILE. Once made there are many things I can do with it for dinner. Here's how we use it in our home for lunch or dinner.

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD - I make our Caesar dressing from scratch - always have. In a bowl place one chopped finely or minced garlic clove and add the following: 1 or 2 spoons of yogurt, a squeeze of Dijon mustard, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice (not necessary but good), salt and pepper, and enough olive oil and vinegar to make a good consistency. Add the dressing to a bowl of lettuce, add some homemade croutons and parmesan cheese and stir. Place on a plate and top with the chicken. 

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD WRAPS - Take the above and put it in a tortilla and wrap it up!

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN Stir fry red pepper, white onion and pineapple. Add your favourite sweet and sour sauce (homemade of course) and crispy chicken. Serve on a bed of rice.

CHICKEN CURRY AND RICE - This could be a curry sauce or just curry powder. I like the dry version myself. Once crispy chicken chunks are complete place on a plate. Clean out the frying pan. Place a bit of oil in the pan and add the chicken. Liberally coat with curry powder and stir. Add stir fried vegetables of your choice. Serve on a bed of rice. (hmmm it's been a while since we've had this I'll have to make it soon.)

CHICKEN BURGER OR SUB - Place a few of the crispy chicken strips on a burger bun and add desired toppings. We like to keep it simple with lettuce and tomato but the sky is the limit!

Of course the strips can be eaten by themselves - I LOVE them with honey - with a side of fries or even better a raw veggie platter with dip.

SIMPLE - EASY - QUICK - AND YUMMY!

Thanks for stoppin' in!

We will most likely have some VERY exciting news to post about in a few days! We are off to look at something that we have been wanting to purchase - fingers Xed!

PLUS! I've been spending some time on our Central America research and I've found a TON of great sites and info. I'll share that with y'all soon too!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: I was also going to make these today but didn't get the chance! We have lemons and we have blueberries! It is a new site to me also but it looks promising! If you get a chance to make them let me know how they turn out - I probably won't get to them now for a few days.

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