This week, I joined a Recipe Swap with some other very talented food bloggers. We all get into routines in our cooking, so this was a way to try out a new recipe or two. The requirement for the swap was to submit a recipe using chicken. Chicken is so versatile, reasonable and quite easy to prepare – so it made it perfect for the swap! My contribution to the Recipe Swap was my Chicken Curry, and I hope whoever made it, loved it as much as we do!
The recipe I received to try was Crunch Chicken with Sesame Rice and Green Beans (Rachel Ray). While I liked the ingredients and the idea of chicken tenders (which I hadn’t made in a long time!), I wasn’t crazy about frying the chicken or the mayo based sauce. So, I took inspiration from the recipe and ingredients and made my own chicken tender recipe with a twist. The addition of sesame seeds to the panko gave the crust an extra flavour boost! Additionally, using yogurt to coat the chicken tenders instead of eggs gave the chicken extra moisture and kept them extra juicy once cooked!
They turned out great, perfect for a casual lunch or a kid-friendly dinner. CH came home and devoured the leftovers! These would be great as a contribution to an appetizer spread or for a weeknight meal, since they are healthy and easy to prepare! Whoever eats them will definitely love them.
Thanks WC for a great idea and a fun new recipe!
Crunchy Sesame Chicken Tenders
Yield: 2 Adult Servings (about 8 chicken strips)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: Approximately 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of chicken loins, sliced into 2 inch strips (or you can use chicken breast and slice into strips)
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted (see note below re: toasting!)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp seasoning salt
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 0.5 tsp ground pepper
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp soy sauce
Dipping Sauce:
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp mustard
- pinch of salt
Directions:
Toasting Sesame Seeds: Simply heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast for 3 or 4 minutes. Be sure to keep your eye on these. They will burn quickly!
In a large bowl, combine the panko, toasted sesame seeds, garlic powder, seasoning salt, 1 tsp salt and pepper. Mix well.
In another large bowl, combine the plain yogurt and soy sauce. Mix well.
Place a wire rack on-top of a baking sheet or use a broiler pan (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy!). Lightly spray the wire rack with cooking spray, or wipe with oil.
Turn on your oven to BROIL (‘low’ setting if your oven has the option). Place the oven rack on the second highest level (i.e. close to the broiler element).
Set-up your dipping station by laying your yogurt bowl first, your panko bowl second and then your baking sheet at the end. Sprinkle the chicken with remaining 1 tsp of salt.
One piece of chicken at a time, dip the chicken tender into the yogurt mixture. Coat evenly.
Next, dip the yogurt covered chicken tender into the panko mixture. Coat evenly and pat the tender with the panko mixture to ensure it sticks well.
Place the coated chicken on the wire rack. Repeat with remaining chicken tenders.
Place the baking sheet with the chicken tenders into the oven. Cook on broil setting for 7 – 10 minutes. Flip the chicken tenders. Cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until nice and crispy and cooked completely! Don’t forget to ensure the chicken is no longer pink on the inside, as cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken!
Remove from oven and serve with dipping sauce of your choice, or the honey mustard sauce above! It also pairs really well with my Green Bean Salad!
Recipe Loosely Adapted From: Rachel Ray
JBean Cuisine 