Harvest is in full swing after a few breakdowns, some rain and some harvest bans due to hot, windy weather. Harvest brings with it our two lovely boys who take holidays from their regular jobs to come home and help.
We couldn’t manage without them and are so grateful that they continue to use their time off this way.
Of course, this means I have extra mouths to feed and extra lunch boxes to fill. It’s always a bit of a battle thinking of savoury foods to pack. Foods must be able to be eaten with one hand as most times the boys are driving a header or a truck. I often make sausage rolls, mini pasties, meatballs and such, but was wanting some roadhouse food that they both love. The healthiest I could think of was the Sweet Chilli Chicken Strips. I’ve created my own version and they’re pretty good. There’s also some variations on the theme with my other spice mixes as well as using fish and pork instead of chicken.
It’s best to start the night before to marinate the chicken strips. When ready to coat, allow an extra couple of hours refrigeration
- 1 cup Buttermilk (or plain yoghurt)
- 3 Tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce (Woolies Homebrand)
- 1 Tbsp All Purpose Seasoning
- 2 Chicken Breasts, sliced into strips
Coating: - 2 cups cornflake crumbs (blitz in Thermie, speed 6/3 seconds)
- 2 Tbsp or so of either millet or quinoa puffs
- 1 Tbsp All Purpose seasoning
- Marinate chicken strips overnight in buttermilk mixture.
- Mix coating ingredients together in a wide bowl.
- Scrape strips on container to remove most of buttermilk mixture.
- Place into coating and press down firmly, coating both sides. Place on a baking tray and refrigerate for 2 hours, if possible.
- When ready to cook, pre heat oven to 200C and place some coconut oil into a large frying pan.
- Gently fry to brown both sides of strips.
- Place back onto clean oven tray and into oven for 10 minutes or so until completely cooked through.
- ½ cup good mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain yoghurt
- 2 Tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- Mix together and place in a bowl for dipping.
Variations:
Southern Fried Chicken Strips
Replace Sweet Chilli Sauce and All Purpose Seasoning with mayonnaise and Southern Fried Chicken Seasoning in the buttermilk mixture.
Use the following coating:
½ cup rice flour
½ cup plain flour
1 – 2 Tbsp buttermilk mixture
Mix together lightly to make a lumpy batter. Coat drained chicken, refrigerate and cook in the same manner. A double coat works well.
These are delicious served hot with gravy, though BBQ sauce works better in a lunch box.
Parmesan Chicken Strips
Coat chicken in ½ cup mayonnaise mixed with ½ cup plain yoghurt.
Add ½ cup grated parmesan and 1 tsp All Purpose Seasoning to the cornflake crumbs.
Proceed as per recipe.
Lemon Fish Strips
Use firm white fish – shark works well.
Coat fish in mayonnaise mixture as per Parmesan Chicken Strips.
Add 2 tsp grated lemon rind and 1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper to cornflake crumbs.
Proceed as per recipe. Do not place in oven as shallow frying should be enough to cook fish through.
Serve with a mayonnaise/plain yoghurt blend with lemon juice, lemon rind and lemon pepper.
Honey Mustard Pork Strips
Use strips of pork steaks and marinate in the following:
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp seeded mustard
Coat with cornflake crumbs blended with 1 Tbsp All Purpose Seasoning.
Serve with mayonnaise mixed with some Dijon mustard.
I encourage you to experiment with other marinades and coatings. There are so many different flavour ways.
Enjoy!
