The spring semester is halfway over and I'm finding that I'm self sabotaging more and more often with self doubt. I'm surrounded by some incredibly talented future (and current) chefs. The reality for me is that I'm pursuing my business/culinary management career so I have further experience in event planning, hospitality, management, the science and art of cooking, and nutrition. So sometimes I feel extremely incapable next to these advanced people. But I need to keep reminding myself that I'm learning! That's the whole point of school! I need to get more comfortable with failing and trying again and drop my idea of perfectionism in the kitchen...especially since I like to experiment with healthy alternatives.
In one of my classes we were assigned this project: create a standardized recipe and explain all of the cooking processes, temps to cook to, all detailed preparation steps, proper yield, measurements, etc. And a big component of the assignment is to test out the dish multiple times and record the changes you make along the way.
So as you can imagine, I was very excited. It's basically homework that requires me to make my very own recipe from scratch! So it's safe to assume I immediately started thinking of a healthy dish.
There were some people in my class that were skeptical when I told them I planned on making paleo fried teriyaki chicken with broccoli and cauliflower rice. I explained that I wanted to bread the chicken in flour that would be gluten free and containing healthier ingredients. It took a couple tries, but it turned out awesome! You could use this recipe without the sauce and cut the chicken into long strips to achieve paleo chicken tenders! But I will say, this sauce turned out pretty fantastic; Anthony ate it last night and was really impressed with the sauce. So I will definitely be making this more in the future. The dish was also a huge hit in my class!
I'm really excited to share this recipe with you that I finally nailed. It's not complicated to make and there are multiple alternatives in terms of cooking methods for the chicken.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and refined-sugar free. There is honey and coconut sugar in the sauce, but that's it!
Ingredients for the chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
3-4 eggs
Oil of choice (optional. See cooking notes at the end)
Ingredients for teriyaki sauce:
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 tsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp honey or agave nectar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp cornstarch (for the slurry)
1/4 cup cold water (for the slurry)
*What is a slurry? It's a thickening mixture made of flour and water and is used for soups, stews, and sauces.
Ingredients for the vegetables:
1 head of cauliflower
1 head of broccoli
1 red bell pepper
1/2 of a white onion
Salt and pepper, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
Oil or butter of choice
Instructions for the chicken:
-Mix all of the flour and seasonings (including cornstarch) in a large bowl.
-In a seperate bowl, whisk the eggs.
-Lightly season the bare chicken with additional salt.
-Coat the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the flour one more time.
-Fill a large skillet with enough oil to fill it about a half an inch thick.
-Heat the stove to medium/high heat and let the oil get hot (you can check the temp of the oil with a thermometer; try to get it to 350 degrees).
-Cook the chicken on one side in the skillet for about 5 minutes and flip. Make sure all sides are golden brown and all the pieces are cooked through (at least 165 degrees temp). I checked by cutting into the biggest piece.
-Remove the chicken from the skillet and either pat dry with a paper towel or place on a drying rack to dry and cool slightly.
Instructions for the sauce:
-Put all of the ingredients, EXCEPT for the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water, into a pot.
-Cook on medium heat, whisking as you go. You just want to heat it all the way through and dissolve the coconut sugar.
-In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water to make your slurry.
-Slowly add the slurry into the sauce, whisking as you go.
-Cook and whisk for about 5 minutes.
-If you think the consistency is too thick, add a tiny bit of water afterwards and whisk until you reach the desired consistency.
-Put your cooked chicken pieces in a large bowl. Dump the sauce in and toss until all the pieces are cooked.
Instructions for the veggies:
-cut the cauliflower into smaller chunks and use a cheese grater to gate it into rice-like pieces. Sautee over medium heat, covered, for 5-8 minutes while occasionally stirring. Season halfway through.
-Cut the broccoli into florets, dice the pepper and onion. Coat a pan in oil or butter and toss the broccoli in the pan to coat it in the oil as well. Season to taste. Cook and stir frequently until bright green and tender. Add stems, onions, and peppers about halfway through.
Mix the all of the vegetables together and put on a plate. Top with the teriyaki chicken and enjoy!
*Cooking notes: If you pick an oil with a lower smoke point (for example, olive oil or even butter) for the chicken, you could always do a quick sautee in the skillet to get some color on the outside and then finish it in the oven. Another method I enjoy is using the air fryer if you don't want to use any oil at all!
Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you try out this recipe. Let me know how it goes for you and let me know your thoughts on the sauce!
*all pictures are my own