This recipe happened by accident like all good things in life! Since my return from Barcelona I have been really feeling under the weather with what I thought was a stomach bug. Turns out it was just my new diabetic medication that made me say hello to the porcelain bowl more often than what I would like. Okay, stomach bug, porcelain bowl and food should not be mentioned in the same sentence, lets skip past this part. Bottom line is, whatever this “thing” is, it has changed my tastebuds. I have gone off completely anything fizzy, sweet or too rich!
Anyhoo, I was watching BBC Food Saturday Kitchen with Chefs Cyrus Todiwala and Matt Tebbutt. The baked seasoning by Chef Todiwala intrigued me and those chicken strips by Chef Tebbutt looked absolutely delicious! I have changed quite a bit on both recipes and have adapted it to my taste and the limited time I have when I want to make something quickly.
This looks like a long recipe, but it really is not! There are 3 elements here that you need to separate. The baked seasoning you only need to make once in a while when you run out. The chicken strips is not necessary for this recipe, but something I felt like adding. It is worth a try though, it is on my top list of crusted chicken recipes!
Feel free to follow the recipe of Matt Tebbutt if you want the real thing! Make it with his macaroni cheese option, or maybe a side salad and fries? As it is slightly Asian inspired, one could place it on top of a bed of stirfry noodles maybe? You could have fun with this if you put your creative cap on!
Bon appetite!
You’ll need
- • For the salad
- 1 x head broccoli, broken into florets and stalks sliced into long strips
- 1 x handful green beans, top and ends trimmed
- 4 x asparagus, trimmed and sliced thinly into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- 4 x Tbsp skin-on almonds or any nut of your choice really
- 2 x eggs. Boiled for 7 minutes and played into ice water to cool. Peel and chop into pieces.
- 100g x baby spinach leaves, washed
- • Salad seasoning
- 1 x tsp cumin seeds
- 50g x caster sugar
- 1 x tsp salt
- ½ x tsp chilli flakes
- • Salad dressing
- 2 x Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 x tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 x Tbsp lime juice
- Pinch of crushed black pepper
- • Chicken marinade
- 2 x Tbsp soy sauce
- 100g x creme fraiche
- 4 x garlic cloves, grated
- 1 x Tbsp Dijon mustard
- • Chicken crust seasoning
- ½ x cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 x tsp smoked paprika
- 1 x tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 x Tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1 x tsp garlic powder
- 2 x skinless chicken thighs/fillets, bashed and then cut into 2-3cm strips
Method
- Start by mixing all the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Place in a ziplock bag, add your chicken strips and massage until everything is covered. Leave in the bag whilst you get on with the rest of the tasks. (Ideally you want a minimum of 30 minutes)
- Heat your oven to 180C. On a baking tray lined with parchment paper, add all the ingredients for the salad seasoning and mix well. Place in the oven for five minutes, remove and stir with a wooden spatula and place back in the oven. Repeat the process until the sugar has melted and caramelised. Once you have reached this stage, remove from the oven and let it cool and become crispy. Break it up and bash it with a rolling pin to get a rough powder consistency. (There will be plenty left of this seasoning and you can store it in an airtight container for a next use.)
- Start preparing the salad ingredients. The next step is a personal choice, you can keep the veggies raw or like I did, steam the broccoli for 5 minutes and then add the green beans and asparagus for the last 2 minutes. I wanted my veggies crunchy but not completely raw. Once this is done, set aside to cool to room temperature.
- The salad dressing is really as easy as mixing all the ingredients together.
- Mix all the chicken crust seasoning ingredients together in a bowl. Heat your frying pan to medium-high and add a dash of oil.
- Start dipping the chicken strips in the panko-mix and make sure it is fully covered. Place them in the pan and fry approximately 2-3 minutes per side. As you have bashed the chicken thinner, this process rally goes quickly. Keep an eye on it, you want them golden on the outside but crispy. Drain excess fat off by placing them on towel paper.
- Time to start assembling your dish and making it all look pretty. Place all the vegetable ingredients in a bowl. Instead of mixing things up, I have kept all the different vegetables separate, almost like a poke-bowl. Drizzle a little salad dressing and baked seasoning over. Place the chopped egg on top of the spinach and add a few strips of the chicken. Scatter the almonds over the vegetables, season with more salad dressing and seasoning.
Tips - You can really use any vegetable of your choice like radishes, carrots, cucumbers, spring onions etc. See this rather as a guide to make your ultimate bowl of goodness with all your favourite veggies.