Chicken Fries-style crispy chicken strips

Ingredients

Chicken

• 500 g chicken breast, cut into 1 cm × 8 cm strips
• 200 ml buttermilk
• 1 tsp salt

Seasoned flour

• 150 g plain flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp white pepper

Dipping sauce

• Sweet chili sauce (jar)
• BBQ sauce (jar)

Method

1. Brine. Submerge chicken strips in buttermilk. Rest 20 minutes.
2. Flour. Mix all dry ingredients in a shallow bowl.
3. Dredge. Lift strips from buttermilk, let excess drip. Press into the seasoned flour. Rest 10 minutes.
4. Double-dredge. Dip back into buttermilk, then back into flour. Press gently.
5. Heat oil. Heat 1 cm of oil to 180°C.
6. Fry. Cook strips 2–3 minutes until golden and cooked through. They cook fast — the thin shape is the point.
7. Drain. Wire rack (never paper).
8. Serve. Pile into a red paper container. Serve with sweet chili + BBQ sauce.

Tips

• The 1cm × 8cm shape is what makes them “fries”. Random chunks = sad chicken nuggets.
• Fry in batches. Overcrowding drops the oil temp and gives you greasy strips.
• Sweet chili is the canonical dip. BBQ is fine but heavy on the sweetness.