Chicken nuggets with rice and vegetables
Jun. 12th, 2011 12:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cookinhurryBecause I love to defy expectations, the very first post with be a meal that takes a bit of time to prepare.
I made it to celebrate moving into my very own (rental) apartment and being on my own for the first time in my life. It incorporates all the things that I love.
What you need:
500g of chicken breast
8 eggs
~300g of breadcrumbs
100g rice
frozen/fresh vegetables
How to prepare it
You start by washing the chicken in cold water, and while it's not necessary, after I'm done, I also dry it off using paper towels.
Next, you cut the chicken into small pieces. You can make them as small as you like or as big as you like. I usually stick to making them no bigger than 4cm x 4cm. It will result in quite a bit of chicken nuggets.
When you're done, you add salt and garlic by gently rubbing it into the meat. I use garlic salt, which is salt mixed with granular garlic - it gives the same aroma, but doesn't make your hands smell. Obviously, if you prefer natural garlic go ahead and use that.
I don't add any other spice, because I like my chicken to taste like chicken. So after I add garlic and salt, it's time for battering and breading.
I don't use flour, because it makes the chicken less crispy.
You scramble the eggs, until they are smooth and light yellow on one deep plate (you can add water if you think you don't have enough eggs) and put all the breadcrumbs on the other. From now on, it's pretty repetitive. You put a chicken nugget in the batter, then move it to the other plate and cover it with breadcrumbs. I usually put a gentle pressure on the meat to make sure breadcrumbs stick well.
I usually go for a double coating (which means, I put it back in the batter after the first layer of breadcrumbs, and again in breadcrumbs), which makes the final product really nice and crispy, but it's a method that uses up a lot of batter and breadcrumbs, so make sure you're stocked up. If you don't like thick crust, stick to one layer.
Once you're done breading, it's time for the frying pan.
Use little oil at the beginning and add a little after each batch. Don't put too many nuggets in at the same time, because you need to be able to move the pieces around the pan. Chicken fries really quickly, and the best technique is to simply take it off the pan the moment the crust has a nice brown color.
In the meantime, you should start boiling water for rice and prepare vegetables.
The rice should be boiled in a salted water. I also add a bit of oil so it doesn't stick to stuff as much. 100g usually is enough for two people so keep that in mind.
I steam vegetables together for about 20 minutes, but it's a more individual case. It's good to check on them and how close they are to done after about 15 minutes and adjust the timetable.
As for what vegetables... I usually go with green peas and cauliflower. Sometimes, if I'm craving a sweeter note, I add chopped carrots.
The key is to prepare the vegetables beforehand to see the quantity on a plate so that you make just enough. I don't know about you, but I like my vegetables freshly made as they don't taste as good the next day.
If you try out the recipe, let me know how it went and how it tasted :)
Bon Apetit.
I made it to celebrate moving into my very own (rental) apartment and being on my own for the first time in my life. It incorporates all the things that I love.
What you need:
500g of chicken breast
8 eggs
~300g of breadcrumbs
100g rice
frozen/fresh vegetables
How to prepare it
You start by washing the chicken in cold water, and while it's not necessary, after I'm done, I also dry it off using paper towels.
Next, you cut the chicken into small pieces. You can make them as small as you like or as big as you like. I usually stick to making them no bigger than 4cm x 4cm. It will result in quite a bit of chicken nuggets.
When you're done, you add salt and garlic by gently rubbing it into the meat. I use garlic salt, which is salt mixed with granular garlic - it gives the same aroma, but doesn't make your hands smell. Obviously, if you prefer natural garlic go ahead and use that.
I don't add any other spice, because I like my chicken to taste like chicken. So after I add garlic and salt, it's time for battering and breading.
I don't use flour, because it makes the chicken less crispy.
You scramble the eggs, until they are smooth and light yellow on one deep plate (you can add water if you think you don't have enough eggs) and put all the breadcrumbs on the other. From now on, it's pretty repetitive. You put a chicken nugget in the batter, then move it to the other plate and cover it with breadcrumbs. I usually put a gentle pressure on the meat to make sure breadcrumbs stick well.
I usually go for a double coating (which means, I put it back in the batter after the first layer of breadcrumbs, and again in breadcrumbs), which makes the final product really nice and crispy, but it's a method that uses up a lot of batter and breadcrumbs, so make sure you're stocked up. If you don't like thick crust, stick to one layer.
Once you're done breading, it's time for the frying pan.
Use little oil at the beginning and add a little after each batch. Don't put too many nuggets in at the same time, because you need to be able to move the pieces around the pan. Chicken fries really quickly, and the best technique is to simply take it off the pan the moment the crust has a nice brown color.
In the meantime, you should start boiling water for rice and prepare vegetables.
The rice should be boiled in a salted water. I also add a bit of oil so it doesn't stick to stuff as much. 100g usually is enough for two people so keep that in mind.
I steam vegetables together for about 20 minutes, but it's a more individual case. It's good to check on them and how close they are to done after about 15 minutes and adjust the timetable.
As for what vegetables... I usually go with green peas and cauliflower. Sometimes, if I'm craving a sweeter note, I add chopped carrots.
The key is to prepare the vegetables beforehand to see the quantity on a plate so that you make just enough. I don't know about you, but I like my vegetables freshly made as they don't taste as good the next day.
If you try out the recipe, let me know how it went and how it tasted :)
Bon Apetit.
