I didn’t feel much like putting together a fancy meal for Sunday night. After all, we had spent most of the weekend in the kitchen doing various things, and I was anxious to just get off my feet.
The start of this meal was my “hot sauce.” And, of course, the Panko-breaded chicken “fingers” were quite tasty, as well. Pay no attention to the daikon “fries” in the lower righthand corner — that idea needs work before I can share it.
But in the meantime, here is what I did for this meal. Jessie loved the hot sauce — I’m sure I’ll be asked to make it again.
What you’ll need:
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 Tablespoon red chili flakes
- 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (I prefer vegan — no anchovies)
- 1/2 Tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
- 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut into long, 1/2-inch thick slices
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 cups Panko-style bread crumbs
- Peanut oil
What to do:
- Put the rice wine vinegar, chili flakes and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Mix in the ketchup, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and Frank’s Red Hot and stir thoroughly. Set aside to cool.
- Bread the chicken fingers using the three-bowl method: dredge in flour, then a beaten egg, then the Panko.
- Heat up an inch-deep batch of peanut oil in your favorite heavy-bottomed fry pan to 350 degrees. Don’t let it get too hot or your breading will brown before the chicken is thoroughly cooked. If you don’t have a fry thermometer, you’ll want to get the oil just hot enough so that a small piece of breading will sizzle, but not so hot that the oil is smoking or popping.
- Fry the chicken in batches, pulling it out when the Panko is a deep brown. Set finished chicken on a cooling rack to allow the oil to finish. You’ll want to cut open a piece of chicken and test its doneness — if it is still raw in the center but the breading is dark brown, your oil is too hot.
- Serve the chicken with the hot sauce.
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Owner of a graphic design firm specializing in magazine design and wannabe chef. Former resident of Belgium, the United Kingdom and...North Dakota. 