Too Hot For You

Like it spicy?

Are you a Tabasco fan or are you faithful to the lovely Cholula?

Just how much heat can you take?

Well, my Sriracha Chicken Tenders may not be as hot as the sun, but that's entirely up to you.  Want to burn your taste buds off?  Go for it.  I made a basic tender recipe that allows you to bring the heat up to forest fire status if you so desire, or keep it warm and cozy.

What is sriracha, you ask?  It's a Korean chili paste with garlic, to put it mildly, and that is putting it mildly.  It's darn hot, and it takes courage to eat it like my dear sister does. Straight out of the bottle and onto pretzel sticks.  You go, girl.

You can keep the recipe as is for a little heat, or, make a sriracha glaze by melting a little butter and adding the sriracha to it, then gently drizzling or brushing it onto the tenders halfway through cooking.  I added some extra sriracha on the side for dipping.  Yumm...  If you do add more sriracha to your marinade, taste it in segments, as too much sassy stuff will not only make it hot and destroy the flavor, but it will also turn bitter while baking.

Please note - I only used two chicken breasts and it made many tender pieces.  You could easily feed four people the normal serving size of protein with the pieces I had, as they equaled about a pound.  Double the marinade if you use more chicken, and feel free to use it on white or dark meat.  They're baked, not fried, and I added no salt.  Consider these a great alternative to greasy hot wings.

Sriracha Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 6 oz. container fat-free Greek yogurt
2 tsp. Sriracha (add more if desired, taste in segments)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. red curry powder
1/8 tsp. garam masala
1 clove garlic, pressed
Pinch of grated lime zest
2 cups Japanese panko crumbs
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Pound chicken breasts until very flat, then cut into strips.  Mix yogurt, sriracha, ginger, masala, garlic, and lime zest into bowl.

Spread over chicken pieces and refrigerate for at least one hour, two hours being optimal.  

Press coated chicken pieces into panko crumbs, then place on foil-lined cookie sheet (I use non-stick foil).  Drizzle olive oil over chicken pieces, then crack pepper over chicken.  Preheat oven to 425 and allow the chicken to sit while oven heats.  This keeps the breading from falling off and it is on the delicate side.

Cook for 12 minutes on one side, then 12 on the other.  Flip one last time to make sure all is done, for about 5 minutes.  (If you use the basting sauce idea listed above, go easy on the sauce or your crumbs will turn to mush).

Serve with veggies to cool the tongue and more sriracha to start things up again!