Crunchy Oven Fried Chicken

Crunchy Oven Fried Chicken

I think most home cooks can agree that deep frying at home causes a huge mess as well, you stink, your kitchen stinks. I find that the greasy smell lingers in my kitchen for days and I have to scrub down every inch of it. Not very nice. I do wonder how life will be if you have one of those Acti-Fry fryers. Give me a shout out if anyone has tried one :)

Well, with all that said - the next best that we can do is opt for oven fried chicken. Like any diligent home cook, I did my research and came across some beautiful recipes from Jo Cooks and Oh Sweet Day. As I have never used Panko breadcrumbs before I decided to give it a go. I like how it is always crispy and light. So off I went to get some Panko and it is revolutionary. No more soggy, thick, clumpy batter. Why am I so late to this Panko game? 

This crunchy oven fried chicken recipe that I am sharing with you is very easy to make. Hardly any kitchen mess and the taste is superb. It kind of reminds me of chicken poppers. It is really tough to stop eating them. 

In my recipe, I used chicken breasts and used basic seasoning of paprika, thyme, garlic powder and black pepper. I wanted a clean tasting basic chicken as I wanted to eat it with some chilli sauce on top of a salad. You can easily go wild with your seasoning - throw some chilli powder in the mix if you want! As for the method, it is simply this - flour - egg - Panko.

Out of the portion that I made, I ate half of the chicken by itself and the other half, with some salad - sort of like an oriental chicken salad. So versatile, so good. I think they will make good appetisers too. I confess, even after all my whining about frying I think I will eventually try frying this chicken. I just got to find out!

Recipe for Crunchy Oven Fried Chicken
Serves 2 / Prep Time 10 minutes / Baking Time 30 minutes

Ingredients 360gm Chicken Breasts (cut into small slices)
80gm Plain Flour
70gm Panko
1 egg (whisked)
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Garlic Powder
Dash of Black Pepper
Wedge of Lemon and some chopped Parsley for garnishing

Method

1. Pre-Heat your oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with some parchment paper. Brush a little margarine or butter on to prevent the chicken from sticking. 

2. Season the chicken slices with Paprika, Thyme, Garlic Powder and Black Pepper.

3. Individually, coat each chicken slice with flour, then dip in the whisked egg and finally roll in the Panko. Place on the baking tray.

4. Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown. Serve immediately with your sauce of choice.