Fried chicken cutlets and crispy pork chops are two of Kevin’s favorite dishes. In fact, anything dipped in batter, and fried in hot oil is beloved by Kevin. Over the weekend, I woke up craving brunch from Taste of Belgium. When I looked outside the window, I saw buildings, cars, and ground covered in a blanket of snow. Winter Storm Gia had made its way to Ohio. Throughout the day, it has been snowing on and off. Whenever it snows outside, I like to stay bundled up inside. Good thing I picked up groceries yesterday evening and didn’t need to make a trip to the grocery store this morning. The snow outside gave me an opportunity to cook up a storm in my kitchen inside. I ended up making some fried parmesan crusted chicken tenders at home with some Belgian sugar waffles and a side of salad. Kevin has also been asking for some nonvegan food after I spent a lot of time since last week testing vegan recipes. Throughout the week, he has been staring at my vegan dishes and asking, “where’s the meat?” Well, today, I am treating him to fried chicken tenders, a variation on my chicken cutlets served on my favorite chicken cutlet sandwich. Chicken tenders are a comfort food I grew up eating as a child. My parents took my brothers and I to McDonald’s, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken occasionally when we were children. If we did well in school or one of us had a birthday, my parents would treat us to some fast food. I almost always ordered some form of fried chicken – chicken nuggets, chicken sandwich, or chicken tenders from the menu. It’s been quite a while since I’ve ordered food from fast food restaurants. Once I started cooking in college, I never looked back. I often challenge myself in the kitchen to come up with slightly healthier versions of my favorite foods. Chicken tenders is definitely one of the items on my list of favorite foods. Luckily, Kevin is also a fan of chicken tenders. I can make this treat for both of us knowing we will both enjoy it. I was able to recreate my version of the chicken and waffles I often order at Taste of Belgium today. My version features fried chicken tenders served with Tabasco, Belgium sugar waffles served with pure maple syrup, and a salad tossed with some Dijon vinaigrette. We ate our breakfast while watching the snow continue to accumulate on the cars, buildings, and ground outside.
Parmigiano Crusted Chicken Tenders:
· 1½ cups vegetable oil
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ½ teaspoon paprika
· 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
· ½ cup panko bread crumbs
· 4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
· 3 sprigs fresh parsley, stems removed and finely chopped
· 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
· 3 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet. Set aside.
2) Heat a large, deep skillet on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil. Let the vegetable oil heat up before frying the chicken. The oil is ready when you see waves form in the oil.
3) In a medium casserole dish, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Divide the flour mixture in half. Add the bread crumbs, grated cheese, and chopped fresh parsley on the bottom half of the flour mixture. Use a fork to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
4) In another medium bowl, add the lightly whisked eggs. Set aside.
5) Use tongs (or chopsticks) to pick up one piece of chicken. Dip the chicken in the first casserole dish in the top half of the flour mixture without the bread crumbs, cheese, and parsley. Turn the chicken to coat in the flour mixture. Dip the chicken in the second casserole dish and turn to coat the chicken in the whisked eggs. Dip the chicken back into the first casserole dish in the bottom half of the flour mixture with the bread crumbs, cheese, and parsley. Remove the coated chicken to a plate. Continue this process with the rest of the chicken strips until all chicken pieces are coated.
6) Fry the chicken in the skillet one at a time for about 2 minutes per side until the chicken tenders are golden brown. Rest each piece of chicken tender over the wire rack to prevent the chicken from becoming soggy at the bottom. Continue the process with the rest of the chicken strips until all of the chicken strips are fried.
7) Place the fried chicken tenders resting on top of the wire rack into the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes to further crisp up the chicken tenders. Once time is up, remove the chicken tenders from the oven and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before serving.
*As an optional step, you can make a batch of your favorite waffles to serve with the chicken tenders. I made some Belgian sugar waffles following the instructions on the back of the Lars Own imported Belgian pearl sugar package.
Takeaways: Chicken tenders can be served on its own or with a side of honey mustard or Sriracha ketchup. To make the honey mustard, combine two parts Dijon mustard and one part honey. To make Sriracha ketchup, combine two parts ketchup with one part Sriracha. You can also serve the chicken tenders with some maple syrup combined with hot sauce, just like the way Taste of Belgium serves its chicken and waffles.
