Popcorn Chicken

After the U2 concert on Saturday, we decided to go have a little bite to eat while waiting for the crowd to disperse a bit.

I was a good girl and had a green apple.

Believe it or not, I’d been dreaming about eating that apple for a good hour while watching the concert and was really looking forward to having one after the show! In fact, I was hoping that the little booth that sold fresh fruits would still be open… thankfully, it was!

So we sat down at a picnic table, right next to this concession that sold all sorts of nasties… My son’s girl friend had popcorn chicken. When she offered us a taste, I couldn’t resist and grabbed a piece.

Well… It wasn’t even good. It was oily and mushy, and well, I’m not even certain that there even was chicken in all that batter… so it didn’t do much for me.

What it did do, however, is inspire me to make some at home. A healthier version, of course!

While I am fairly happy with the results that I got, I still think I need to make a few improvements the next time I make them.

For instance, I might leave the black sesame seeds out, for I find it made the chicken bites look a tad too dark, maybe, even, dare I say, burnt… I really liked the way they turned out on Nora’s chicken tenders, so I decided to add some to my breading, but I’m not sure I should’ve… I guess Nora got such beautiful results because her breading is on the light side, whereas mine was pretty dark to start with.

Also, I find that my breading didn’t stick to the pieces of chicken quite as good as I would’ve liked it to… maybe I should’ve added an egg to my marinade, that might’ve helped a bit.

But other than that, the popcorn chicken was good and crispy, the meat was tender and juicy, the flavor was so bang on, perfect balance of sweet and tangy, with just a hint of heat.

And at least, unlike the one from the concession, mine had way more chicken than it did batter!

In short, it was well worthy of a log!

So here goes!

INGREDIENTS
(serves 1)

1 small (150g) skinless chicken breast

Marinade

• ¼ cup buttermilk
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp sambal oelek
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard

Breading

• ⅓ shredded wheat biscuit
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp wheat germ
• 2 tbsp spelt flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp paprika

Honey Mustard Sauce

• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 tbsp 0% Fat Plain Greek Yogurt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a plastic container with fitting lid, mix all the ingredients of the marinade until well combined. Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces and add to marinade.
2. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. In a small food processor (magic bullet type), combine all the ingredients of the breading and process until mixture is evenly ground. Transfer breading to a shallow dish.
4. Take chicken out of the marinade and dredge in breading mixture until coated on all sides. Dip the pieces of chicken in the marinade again and repeat breading process.
5. Heat about a teaspoon of olive oil in a non stick pan over medium high-heat. Add pieces of chicken and cook for a total of about 10 minutes, flipping them around, until nice and golden brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
6. While chicken is cooking, combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
7. Serve immediately with fresh crudités.