Friday, March 18, 2011

Healthy Chicken Fingers

I have been shamelessly watching hours of food shows since we have a free preview of Food Network this month.  I saw this recipe on "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry" and thought it looked really good.  They were trying to transform a popular chicken finger recipe into something a little more healthy.  Some of the changes they made were:
  • turkey instead of chicken
  • baked instead of fried
  • no white flour in the breading mixture
I used their recipe for Gobble-icious Turkey Strips and just made some slight changes.

ASIAN CHICKEN FINGERS WITH TROPICAL DIPPING SAUCE
2 eggs
1/2 c. Black Bean Sauce (I would have used Hoisin, but I didn't have any)
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2/3 c. coconut
1/2 c. Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1/4 tsp. each salt, garlic powder, 3 Onion Dip Mix
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 c. plum sauce
1/3 c. tropical juice concentrate (thawed)
1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. flour (I didn't have any cornstarch)

Mix first three ingredients in a bowl and add chicken strips.  Coat well and marinate for 30 minutes.  Combine dry ingredients in a dish and coat each piece of chicken, then lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 450 F for 15 minutes, turning once.  Meanwhile, remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until it thickens slightly.  Serve chicken fingers with dipping sauce.
I thought these were a delicious combination of Asian and Tropical flavours, and the coconut gave a nice crunch.  The black bean sauce was a little strong, so I'd like to try it with Hoisin next time.  The dipping sauce was perfect.  My kids were not crazy about these at all, but they're just crazy cuz these were really good!!
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