Chicken fingers with apricot sauce

January 18th, 2009 | Written by jfolkmann | Topic: Main

Everyone likes chicken fingers. Fact. Other than getting the temperature just right for frying, this recipe is very simple. Pair with a green salad, or coleslaw.

Note:If you can’t find panko, the closest I’ve been able to create is by taking the crust off of a day old french loaf and putting it in the blender.

Taken from “Making It Easy” By Meredith Books, Food Network (Firm), Jennifer Darling

Preparation time

15m

Cooking time

20m

Difficulty

2

Serves

4

Ingredients

• Chicken
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups panko
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs
• Vegetable oil (for frying)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon cut into wedges
• Sauce
• ⅔ cup apricot preserves
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• Freshly squeezed juice from half a lemon

Preparation

1. Set a rack on a baking sheet, put it in the oven, and preheat to 200F. Cut each chicken breast into 4 thick even pieces. Toss the panko, lemon zest, and 2 teaspoons of salt in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Beat eggs lightly in another.

2. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and papper to taste, dip in eggs and then press into the panko mixture to coat evenly. Shake off any excess. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the pan. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a constant sizzle. Fry the chicken a few pieces at a time, turning once until evenly brown. About 5 minutes total. Keep cooked fingers in the oven on the rack. Repeat with the rest of the chicken breasts. Serve with lemon and dipping sauce.

Apricot sauce:
Combine the preserves, soy sauce and ketchup in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture until the preserves have melted. Stir in the lemon juice and cool before serving.

There are 7 Comments

1. Comment by Al on the January 18th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

   
   

   You should be able to find Panko in the asian food section of the supermarket. It’s quite common these days.

2. Comment by gaga on the January 18th, 2009 at 8:28 pm

   
   

   The chicken looks perfectly cooked, so crispy but not greasy at all. And the apricot dip sounds great!

3. Comment by Pete on the January 19th, 2009 at 5:17 am

   
   

   Apart from the bit about eating 1/2 inch of oil (typo on point 2), sounds delicious!

4. Comment by jfolkmann on the January 19th, 2009 at 8:57 am

   
   

   Thanks Pete. All fixed.

5. Comment by Molly on the April 8th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

   
   

   Just whipped these up, using gluten-free breadcrumbs instead of panko. It worked perfectly! Thank you for this!

6. Comment by Chicken Fingers With Apricot Sauce | momcredible on the September 2nd, 2010 at 11:34 pm

   
   

   [...] it before she eats anything else on her dinner plate. So when scanning the web for quick recipes, FolkMann’s Chicken Fingers With Apricot Sauce sounded like one of those recipes I had to bookmark. See what I mean – after the jump of course! [...]

7. Comment by Chicken Fingers with Apricot Sauce | Mom Makes… on the September 26th, 2012 at 3:48 pm

   
   

   [...] Quick Post: These are really so good and the sweet and salty sauce takes them over the top! They’re on the menu for tonight and I searched my blog to get the recipe again and discovered that it was never posted! I can’t believe I forgot to post this recipe three months ago when I first made it…better late than never! Chicken Fingers with Apricot Sauce – adapted from Folkmann.ca [...]

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