Hello 2015! In this year, my love affair with chicken nuggets continues… lol. These nuggets are really easy to make and were a big hit in our house! A quick Asian marinade, fried until golden brown, and then drizzled with a lemon glaze… these chicken nuggets are a delicious twist on traditional nuggets.
I was bad when I made these and didn’t read the recipe fully beforehand, so I had no clue that the chicken needed to marinate for about 2 hours prior to frying…. whoops! So instead the chicken took a swim in the marinade pool for about 30 minutes. And guess what? The flavor was still incredible! So I can only imagine how amazing they would taste if they had the full 2 hour marinade… next time my friends, next time 🙂
I also deviated from the recipe in that it calls for boneless skinless chicken thighs, and what I had on hand was boneless skinless chicken breasts. Even though chicken breasts have a tendency to get a bit dry, these cook so quickly that they didn’t dry out at all 🙂
These chicken nuggets would be great with some rice for a simple meal… I served mine with some steamed broccoli and my Crab Rangoons. The chinese mustard sauce in that crab rangoon recipe is also terrific with these chicken nuggets 🙂
When I take my food pics for the blog, 9 times out of 10 I’m using leftovers that I reheat the next day (gotta have that daylight!), and with this meal, I didn’t think we’d have enough left to take the pics, but somehow we all filled up on the rangoons that were left and saved me some nuggets to photograph….. whew!
Alright, so enough of my blabbing… let’s get to the good stuff!
Mix up your marinade, dice up your chicken, and let them hang out for about 2 hours (or 30 minutes if you space out and forget like I did lol), then drain the chicken.
Toss your chicken with some flour while your oil heats up.
Yep, it looks pretty gross huh? Don’t worry, it’ll taste amazing!
Fry your chicken in some oil. I used peanut, but you could swap that out for some vegetable, canola, sunflower oil, etc.
As with all fried foods, remove the chicken and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain, and sprinkle with a little salt. Try to resist eating a nugget… you know… just to “taste test”. Fail at resisting and enjoy the nugget. 😉
While your chicken is draining, whisk together your glaze ingredients and heat for a couple of minutes. Place chicken nuggets in a bowl and toss with that amazing glaze. Alternatively, you could drizzle the glaze on, or serve it alongside as a dipping sauce 🙂
Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious
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Asian-style Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 4 green onions sliced
- 6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into bite-size
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 cup peanut oil
- FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
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In a large ziploc bag, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame seed oil, garlic, ginger and green onions. Combine the marinade and chicken; marinate around 2 hours, turning the bag occasionally if you remember to.
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Drain the chicken from the marinade.
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In a bowl, combine the chicken and the flour.
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Heat peanut oil in a cast iron skillet to 350 degrees. Add the chicken and fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
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To make the glaze, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, lemon zest and juice, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water over medium low heat. Bring to a boil, simmering until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
-
Serve the chicken nuggets immediately, tossed or drizzled with the lemon glaze.
YUMM! This looks devine!
Sarah @ Sarah’s Kitchen recently posted…Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!
They’re soooo addicting!
Loving the glaze on these!!
Mr Fitz recently posted…New Year’s Day mutton chops 1002 posts!
Thank you! It’s amazingly good 😀
Another one I’m going to have to try!
Sweet, I hope you love it!
Wow two amazing recipes! I’m adding this one too!
Julie is HostessAtHeart recently posted…Champagne Pound Cake
I appreciate that so much!!
These look delicious! I love the flavors in here and the photos are great too. Thanks for sharing!
Caroline recently posted…Root vegetable and lentil soup with cayenne-toasted pumpkin seeds
Thank you!! I was amazed at how the simple flavors just came together 🙂
Looks super yummy! Cannot wait to sink my teeth into these:)
Sandhya recently posted…Almond Kheer to start the New Year!
Thank you! You definitely won’t regret eating them 🙂
Love your Asian take on a classic American appetizer! Happy FF. oh and the lemon glaze looks divine and so versatile! I think I’m going to try using it on porkchops!
Happy FF to you as well! Thank you! Oooooh I bet that glaze will be heavenly on pork chops, let me know how it goes 🙂
My family would go crazy for these chicken nuggets! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Karly recently posted…Sloppy Joe Cornbread Bake
Thank you!! 🙂 I’m sure they’ll be requesting it often, I know my family sure does 🙂
Must get me to a store and find me some of these ingredients! These look amazing!
Ruth Anne recently posted…Asparagus with Garlic and meal plan for the week
Thank you so much!! They’re even better tasting 🙂 Hope you LOVE them 😀
These look fantastic! I pinned them and will definitely make them. Yum!
Apple Pie at Sisterswives.com recently posted…A Lay Ministry & Dirty Feet
Thank you!! 😀 Can’t wait to have you try them 🙂
These chicken nuggets look beyond delicious! Can’t get over the idea of a tangy lemon drizzle. Pinning to make!
Nicola – Pink Recipe Box recently posted…Healthy Three-Ingredient Strawberry Chia Jam
Thank you so much… you’ll love them! 😀