Popcorn Chicken Bites

I have been playing around with these for a while and making a version of them for years, but since I tried Half Baked Harvest's recipe for Chicken Tenders back in January, which introduced me to the cornflake crust, it's honestly been a game-changer and this version has been voted for as a winner by my family. 

You can soak the chicken in buttermilk, but I make a version of my own and have included the details for this below as buttermilk isn't always easy to come by.

I cannot stress enough the importance of using boneless and skinless chicken thighs here for the juiciest little crispy bites of chicken; you can use chicken breast if you prefer but it will inevitably be drier! 

You can also play around with the seasonings in the crust, I have just a gentle spicing, as my girls don't like anything too hot, but I think cayenne would work really well here. 

However many you make, they will go, and I guarantee once you make this once, you'll be making it again and soon. I served this here with my Slow Cooker BBQ Beans with Chorizo but they'd also work well with my Healthy Coleslaw.

Popcorn Chicken Bites

Here's how:

• 600g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 3 heaped tbsp of natural yoghurt
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 140g cornflakes
• 1.5 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• Fry Light Sunflower Oil

Firstly make your own buttermilk, by combining the yoghurt with the white wine vinegar and stirring through and place into a container big enough to hold the chicken. If you don't have white wine vinegar, any white vinegar will work or you could even use the juice of half a lemon.

Now cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and place into the buttermilk. Once all chopped and added to the yoghurt use a spoon to mix the chicken all around and ensure every piece is coated. Put a lid on the container and place into the fridge for at least an hour. 

When ready to cook, pop the oven on at 200 degrees. 

For the crust, blitz the cornflakes in a blender or a Nutribullet and place into a bowl then add the seasonings; paprika, oregano, black pepper and garlic salt and mix.

Get a couple of baking trays ready - I line them with baking paper to stop the chicken sticking and losing any of the crust.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and take off the lid.

Use a fork to pop each piece of chicken into the cornflake mixture and move it around to ensure it's completely coated then place onto the baking sheet. Repeat this until every piece of chicken has a good coating. 

Now give all of the chicken pieces a spray with the Fry Light.

Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until cooked through and crisp. Enjoy!

I serve with a Jack Daniels' BBQ dip and then two dips which I knock up quickly myself and which are always devoured. 

The first is a Honey Mustard dip and it is simply 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1.5 tbsp honey and a pinch of cayenne pepper and a drop of white wine vinegar and mixed together.

The second is an Asian dipping sauce and is a minced garlic clove, and a 2 cm piece of ginger grated or finely chopped and heated in a pan with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp sriracha, 1 tbsp red bean chilli paste. 

Again, if you make either of these dips I guarantee it won't only be the once!