Chicken Threads
This is a fun and quick way of preparing chicken for the little ones. Thin threads of chicken covered with a crispy coating and deep fried for just a few minutes to make for the crunchiest little morsels of chicken. This dish can be served with fries or with some colourful rice. I like to drizzle them with a mildly spicy and flavourful sauce to intensify the flavour but even ketchup/tomato sauce will work. The chicken threads can also be added into grown-up salads for a crunchy texture.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Chicken Threads
- 2 chicken breasts cleaned
- 4 tbsp. all purpose/plain flour
- 4 tbsp. cornflour/cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. paprika powder
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper powder
- oil for deep frying
Ingredients for Sauce
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
- pinch of salt
- pinch of black pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder or flakes optional
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 tbsp. tomato sauce/ketchup
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- water as needed
Instructions
- First, prepare the Sauce.
- Heat oil in a pan, then add the ginger and garlic pastes. When aromatic, add the rest of the ingredients and cook for a minute or two then add some water to lighten up the sauce. Taste and adjust flavour to suit your taste. Set aside.
- In a bowl, sieve together the flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder, then add the paprika powder and black pepper. Stir to combine these dry ingredients.
- Chill the chicken breasts for about half an hour to make them firm. Then using a sharp knife, cut horizontal paper-thin slices, dividing each breast into about 5-6 slices/layers, as thin as you can manage.
- Dust the slices on both sides in the flour mix to prevent them from getting sticky. Also, dust some of the flour mix on your cutting surface. Then again cut each slice into very thin long strips. They don’t have to be perfect, just get them as thin as you can manage. This will ensure they are really crunchy when fried later.
- Put the strips in the prepared flour and toss them in it to coat them from all sides. Try and separate them with your fingers. Then put them in a sieve and dust out any excess flour. Do not store the chicken strips after this point as they will clump up and will be difficult to separate. Make sure you are ready to fry them right away.
- In the meantime, heat oil in a pan. Fry these ‘threads’ in the hot oil until golden and crunchy. Remove on to kitchen towels to drain off excess oil and serve immediately over rice or fries (or both) and drizzled with some of the sauce or just plain ketchup. Enjoy! 🙂
