Licking my lips and practically drooling at the thought of
this recipe. It was so good but this is probably the most complicated recipe I'll be sharing to date. I mean, maybe you won't even think it's all that complicated since you're a five star celebrity chef but for me this is a dinner that I will have to plan out and be mentally prepared for.
Cost effective: for me it cost me $16 to get the ingredients I didn't have (chicken, pineapple, coconut oil and apricot jelly -- if you've been humoring me and have been making recipes as I've shared them you will only need to buy these items too! Like how that works?).
Easy to concoct: you don't have to be Julia Child, but you will need more than just beginner kitchen skill, I believe.
And the list is extra hefty and like the
peanut noodle pasta salad there was no way I was going to take the time to measure and arrange 20 separate ingredients. NO SHAME; we're extra average around these parts, remember?
1½ pounds chicken breast/tenderloins (pounded thin and cut into bite-size pieces)
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
1 cup flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
*½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup + 2 tbsp apricot preserves (I just used 6 tbsp because.. annoying)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tsp coconut oil
1½ tsp (3 cloves) minced garlic
*2 tsp freshly-grated ginger
1 tsp Sriracha
2 tsp cornstarch
1 cup fresh pineapple, diced
Notes:
I forgot to add ginger root to my grocery list so I did not have any *freshly-grated ginger, so for the pan portion I used squeezeable ginger and for the *ground ginger portion, I didn't even think to look in the spice section knowing I had my squeezeable ginger so for the flour mixture I just left it out because I imagined that the squeeze ginger would have stayed in one clump instead of dispersing evenly. For the pineapple juice and diced pieces, I bought a can of Dole Pineapple Tidbits and used the juice from there.
And now, let us begin!
1. First thing I would do is prepare your chicken bites. Once you have them all cut up to size, go ahead and preheat your oven to 375°F. Hint: if you don't feel much like pounding chicken breast I was able to find thinly sliced!
2. In a freezer storage bag combine together the flour, 1 tsp of your cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, *ground ginger, onion powder, salt and pepper and *shake, shake, shake*.
3. In a medium bowl (or freezer storage bag because hey I'm trying to save on dishes), add your eggs and water and whisk until your heart's content.
4. Add your chicken to your egg mixture, let the excess drip off and place into your flour and *shake, shake, shake* until it is all evenly coated. Originally I thought I could cut a corner off the bag and let the egg run out but funny story, it was a mess and the chicken kept blocking the hole. And excuse my dirty ass sink.
5. Before you do anything else with your chicken, line a baking sheet with foil (or non-stick spray) and try to keep your greedy puppy away from the food! And cry when you get a good look at the state of your kitchen.
6. Fill said baking sheet with your flour coated chicken!
7. Now here's when the instructions get a little wonky. The chicken needs to bake for 10 minutes and will need to broil for 8 minutes, flipping at the halfway mark. While the chicken is cooking is when you'll want to try to do the sauce. Also this is when you'll want to cook up your rice if you desire. I was honestly frantic at this point.
8. In a large pan add your coconut oil and melt over medium heat. I added my garlic and ginger at this point because I didn't follow the directions well enough, but hey! It turned out just fine and if you are like me, skip to step #10.
9. Once your coconut oil is melted add your garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds!
10. Add in pineapple juice, soy sauce, apricot preserves, brown sugar, Sriracha and the remaining cornstarch and mix until evenly combined.
11. Bring your mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
12. I left my sauce on the stove and added my chicken and pineapple instead of mixing in a new bowl.
13. Enjoy!
Guh, I truly wish this recipe wasn't such a headache. I mean, overall the cooking techniques are not difficult, it's the multitasking. I loved, loved, loved this one! The sauce had the best flavor. Perfect amount of sweet and spicy.. at least in my opinion. I'll definitely be making this one in the future, but I'll have to mark in on the calendar, haha.
YUMMMMMMM.
Leia
