Coco for Coconut Fried Chicken

I love coconut. You may or may not have known this prior, but it is seriously, like my favorite thing now. I really enjoy coconut shrimp, but then I saw a post about Coconut Fried Chicken. This the original post that got me all "gee, I want some coconut chicken", but then I found this one. So, I decided to go with the second, even though I didn't have stuff for the dipping sauce.

Also, I didn't use chives (didn't have them) and I substituted the flour with almond meal, vegetable oil was halved with coconut oil, and the sweetened coconut with unsweetened coconut.

Coconut Crunch Chicken Strips with Creamy Honey-Mango Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil for frying
2 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless), sliced length-wise into 4 strips, then those strips sliced length-wise in half, making a total of 8 strips per breast
• Pinch curry powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper
½ cup flour
2 eggs
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1 tablespoon chives, finely minced
• Creamy, Honey-Mango Dipping Sauce (recipe below)

Preparation:

-Begin by filling a medium-sized pot about half-way with the vegetable oil (roughly 6-8 cups), and bring the temperature of the oil slowly up to 350° while you prepare the strips.

-Place the chicken strips into a bowl, and add the pinch of curry powder, a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, and a pinch or two of cayenne pepper, to the strips; toss the strips to coat them in the seasoning, and set them aside for a moment.

-Set up your “coating” station by putting the flour, along with another couple of pinches of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, into a medium-sized bowl and blending to combine; put the eggs into another medium-sized bowl and beat them, and put the sweetened shredded coconut into another medium-sized bowl; to coat the chicken strips, dredge one strip at a time into the seasoned flour and coat it well; next, dip it into the beaten eggs, and then into the shredded coconut; press the strips into the coconut very well to coat them thoroughly, and place the coated strips onto a plate to hold until all strips have been coated.

-To fry the strips, work in batches by adding about 4-5 strips into the hot oil, and allow them to fry for about 1 ½ – 2 minutes, moving them very gently with tongs every now and then, until they are a deep, golden color; remove from oil and place onto a paper towel-lined platter to drain, and sprinkle each batch with a pinch of salt and pepper while they’re still hot; repeat the process until all strips have been fried.

-Serve the strips hot, garnished with a sprinkle of the minced chives and a side of the Creamy, Honey-Mango Dipping Sauce.

Creamy Honey-Mango Dipping Sauce ingredients:

½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup frozen mango chunks, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon honey
• Pinch (small) curry powder
3-4 drops Sriracha sauce (add more if you like it a bit more spicy)
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

-Add all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, and process until completely combined and well-blended; serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for a couple of days.

Served with some Roasted Green Beans.

Crispy Crunchiness.

Oh man.

This turned out quite nicely. I got impatient and cooked the chicken on a high temp than I should have, but it still turned out great. I served it with  I look forward to making this dish again with the sauce they suggest though the one I made turned out just fine. I made a dipping sauce with some General Tso's Stirfry sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, honey, and a splash of lime juice.

Until next time I make this wonderful dish...