Turning cooking basics into extraordinary dishes

Host of “Everyday Exotic”, Roger Mooking takes an everyday dish like chicken fingers and makes them delicious with different dipping sauces.

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 4x6 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
• 1 zest of 1 blood orange, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fennel seed, ground in a mortar and pestle
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• zest of 2 blood oranges
• 4 blood oranges, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
• 8 basil leaves, julienned

• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper  

Directions:

Blood Orange Rub

1. Place chicken pieces in a large dish and add remaining ingredients. Coat chicken with Blood Orange Rub, place in fridge for 30 minutes.

 Sweet and Sour Blood Orange Sauce

1.  Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add red onions, sweat until tender and translucent.
   Mix red wine vinegar, honey and water in a bowl, add to sauté pan and stir.
2. Add cinnamon stick, zest and blood oranges. Season with salt and pepper, stir and cook until mixture has reduced by half.
3. Strain mixture through a sieve into a new pot over medium heat.
4. Bring blood orange mixture to a simmer then remove from heat.
5. Continue to cook for approximately 3-5 minutes.
6. Place pot over medium heat, once mixture comes to a simmer and cornstarch is cooked out, approximately 3-5 minutes, remove from heat and stir in basil.

Crispy Chicken Fingers

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Place vegetable oil 1/3 full in a large pot and heat to 350 degrees.
3. Place flour, whisked eggs and panko in individual dishes. 
4. Remove chicken strips from fridge and season with salt and pepper.
5. Dredge chicken strips in flour, followed by eggs then panko breadcrumbs. Place breaded chicken on a baking tray lined with a cooling rack.
6. In batches, place chicken strips in oil, fry until crispy and golden. Place on a baking tray and warm in oven to keep hot, approximately 5 minutes. Repeat process with remaining chicken.
7. Enjoy with Sweet and Sour Blood Orange Sauce.