Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers


My dad came to visit recently, and I knew that I had to make this dish for him. Last time he came to visit, we ate out every night. This time I insisted that I cook. This meal was the first to go on the menu. I had made it once before, and my family loved it. After tasting it the first time with the Cumin, I decided to pair it up this time with rice and broccoli. The entire meal was a hit!

This meal takes a little longer to prepare, but is oh, so worth it! Panko bread crumbs are lighter in texture then regular bread crumbs. They can be found by the regular bread crumbs.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 chicken tenders (I used 3 chicken breasts, cut into slices)
2 eggs
1/2 C flour
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 teas garlic powder
3/4 teas table salt
3/4 teas curry powder
1/4 teas onion powder
1/8 teas cayenne pepper (you can leave this out if you want to tone down the spice)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Give coconut a rough chop so it's about the same size as the panko pieces. (I put mine in a food processor for a quick chop. It does make a difference in how the coconut coats the chicken)
Combine it with Panko and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices.

Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the egg in another. Give the egg a quick beating.

Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour… then dip in egg...and then finally coat in the coconut Panko mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.

Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Then, spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray as well, or drizzle olive oil on top.

Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Watch them carefully, they can get overdone very quickly. The coconut will be nice and golden and the panko crisp, but light in color still.

Serve with Rice, Noodles, Veggies... these go with just about everything!

2 comments:

  1. Holy moly that looks yummy! Thank you thank you! Glad I followed you again at SITS (well, down a few) I meant to add you to my blogroll the other day and forgot. Now I'm off to do it!

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  2. Those look absolutely delicious. I love to make chicken fingers. Sometimes, I make them with mashed up cornflakes. Tastes almost like fried chicken when you bake them!

    Stopping by from SITS

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