Today we will be taking a look at how you can make homemade chicken fingers that are vastly superior to the store bought frozen variety and that are truly easy to prepare.
We will be making them using Panko as opposed to regular breadcrumbs as Panko provides a tastier and crunchier crust.
Panko is a Japanese style breadcrumb that is available at most large grocery stores.
To begin you want to buy some raw, skinless, boneless chicken strips. You want these to be not too wide or thick as they have to fry quickly. Most grocery stores sell these pre-cut, but you can also purchase boneless, skinless chicken breasts and slice them yourself.
Season your strips to taste with sea salt.
Put three bowls out in your prep area. In the first place a cup of all-purpose flour.
In the second put two eggs, a teaspoon of Herbs-de-Provence or Italian seasoning, a teaspoon of garlic powder and a couple dashes of cayenne pepper and beat all until thoroughly blended.
Finally, in a third bowl put a cup of Panko crumbs.
These measurements will make a fair number of chicken fingers, but if you are making an especially large batch simply add more of each to their respective bowl as required.
Take each chicken strip and dredge in the flour lightly first, then dip in the seasoned beaten eggs and then into the panko. The egg will cause the panko to adhere. You do not need to coat the strips with panko quite as much as you would have to with traditional bread crumbs. The picture below will give a general idea of how they should look after prep and prior to deep frying.
Into a large saucepan pour about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil and and heat on the burner until it is ready for frying. Then add your Panko battered strips into the oil in batches so that they are not too crowded or touching each other and deep fry for about 2-3 minutes a side (turning only once!) until golden brown. You want to make sure not to cook for too long to avoid burning the panko.
Remember that the strips will deep fry relatively quickly as they are thin. (If you are concerned, after resting cut the thickest strip in half to check that they are done. This means that they are white inside and have been cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees).
Rest the chicken fingers on a platter for a couple of minutes, season a bit more with sea salt to taste, and then serve with lemon wedges and sauces for dipping. Plum sauce works well or, for those who like a little heat, a Buffalo chicken wing sauce.
These are always a huge hit with kids or at parties.
Enjoy!
(This recipe was first posted on the original The Left Chapter blog in 2017)
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