Thursday, March 10, 2011

Coconut Chicken Tenders

This recipe has been in my drafts for over a month. I had originally seen it on Rachael Ray and thought it reminded me very much of the Coconut Shrimp appetizer at Outback. Even though I'm generally not a coconut fan, we both love that appetizer so I thought it was worth a try. The saga that was obtaining unsweetened flaked coconut was a borderline deal-breaker (probably could have cracked and shredded my own coconut...for serious people!) and Hubby's work schedule of late has been a bit wonky so I punted on the original version of the recipe. I have come up with something that I think does the original justice while being a little easier to fit into our weird dining habits.

Coconut Chicken Tenders with Pineapple Drizzle
Adapted from Rachael Ray
Serves 3

1 lb package of chicken tenders
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup pineapple preserves
1/2 jalapeño, finely chopped
2 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp chicken stock
1 Tbsp dried chopped onion
Salt and pepper, to taste
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a cookie sheet with a cooling rank inside - spray with cooking spray.
  2. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper.
  3. Set up 3 shallow bowls for breading the chicken:
    1 - flour
    2 - egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water
    3 - mixture of panko and coconut

  4. Dredge chicken in flour, coat with egg, and even coat with breadcrumb mixture and place on prepared pan.
  5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
  6. While chicken is cooking, in a small skillet heat the preserves, jalapeño, soy sauce, stock, and dried onion together until the sauce comes together and is heated through. This can be drizzled over the chicken tenders or used as a dipping sauce, whatever strikes your fancy =)
I ended up liking this a lot more than Hubby which was strange. It's on his "I'd never request it, but I'd eat it list" (a 3) while I thought it was perfect and wanted to serve it to all my friends...so sad.

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