I think I am probably a combination of a really cheap date and a pain in the arse when it comes to dining out. I either always opt for the fish and chips (providing I know the providence of the fish and exactly what kind of fish it is.), or I go for the chicken strips. (Again, only if I know that they are totally made from actual strips of chicken breast, not chewed up chicken reconstituted into whole strips.) I know. Picky me. I have had far too many poorly cooked steaks to want to risk good money chasing after one of those. More and more however, I am finding that if I really want a delicious meal that is affordable, I will stick to home. You just can't beat good home-cooking.
And I can't afford to eat in fancy restaurants that give you good, cooked from scratch food. Truth be told, most restaurants today bring in their food frozen and all they are doing is re-heating it. I can do that at home, thank you very much, and at a fraction of the cost!
These chicken strips I am sharing today are really, really good. Nicely flavoured and spiced and made from real whole chicken breast which has been sliced into strips. Its always a bit of a faff when you are breading things. There is no getting around it, but I find that if I do it in steps, then things run rather smoothly. Usually I will cut and bread the chicken earlier in the day, laying it on a plate and putting it in the refrigerator to chill until I am ready to cook it.
This saves me from being rushed at the last minute, at the end of the day, when I am usually really tired. It also means that the breading has had a nice long time to set up and so it really sticks to the chicken when I go to fry it. Win/win in my books, but you do whatever you find easiest!
On this particular day I decided to whisk together mustard and honey for a dipping sauce. I love honey mustard, and this turned out really nice. I used French's American style mustard and plain old liquid clover honey.
It was just runny enough to make a lovely dip, and yet not too runny if you know what I mean. If you want a milder mustard flavour, and a less runny dip, you can whisk in either some mayonnaise or some sour cream, or both.
We were happy with it just as it was. Todd always says that American mustard isn't really mustard. He likes British mustard, which is really, really hot, not mild like American style.
Funny story. When we were first married, I used to make him a bag lunch to take to work each day. I would often put mustard on his ham sandwiches if that was the kind of sandwich I was making, and I used to really smear the mustard onto them, like I would have done back home. He was so polite, he never said a word. It wasn't until I did it for myself one day that I realised just hot hot it was! Poor Todd. He must have had his head blown off every time!
In any case, this is a really lovely dip for the chicken. Not too spicy and with a tangy sweetness.
It goes really well with the peppery bite of the chicken. YUMMY! We love these.
Yield: 4Author: Marie Rayner
Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard Dip
prep time: 25 minscook time: 25 minstotal time: 50 minsSpicy chicken strips served with a delicious honey mustard dipping sauce.ingredients:
For the chicken:1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts1 cup plain flour
1 tsp sea salt, rubbed in your fingers until fine
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large free range eggs
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (if you can't find these, use plain dry
bread crumbs to which you have added some garlic powder, dried parsley
flakes, dried basil and dried oregano)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
unsalted butter
good olive oil
For the sauce:60ml prepared mustard (1/4 cup)(I used French's American style mustard)3 TBS liquid honey
instructions:
Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cut through each, diagonally, into four or five large strips.Take three shallow bowls. In the first one combine the flour, salt and
pepper. In the second one beat the eggs together with 1 TBS water. In
the third one combine the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Take
your chicken pieces and, working with one at a time, dredge them into
the flour mixture, then into the beaten egg and then finally roll them
in the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place them on a plate without
touching until they are all coated. (Your fingers will get all clumped
up with doughy squidge, but that’s OK. Fingers are easily cleaned off!)
Let them sit for about 15 minutes.
Heat 1 TBS of butter along with 1 TBS of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When the butter is foaming, turn the heat down to medium low, and cook the chicken
strips in the hot fat for about 3 minutes on each side, just until they
are cooked through. Don’t crowd the pan or they will steam instead of
fry. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest. Serve warm with the
dipping sauce.
While the chicken strips are cooking, whisk together the mustard and liquid honey for the dip.
Easy Peasy.
Created using The Recipes Generator
These are great for game nights when you are watching the football, hockey or rugby, or when your teens are entertaining their friends, and to be honest, they are great for supper, served with your favorite sides. We had homemade sweet potato wedges and peas. Yummy!
