Guests may argue whether or not this is a salad, I would argue that with so much chicken on top of a head of lettuce (and, for me, an additional breast that didn’t fit the roomy platter), this is an entree on a bed of greens. I really liked the almond flavoring coupled with the nuanced sauce of soy, sherry, hoisin and chicken broth.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Sharp-eyed readers may note that one bowl, on the left, has toasted almond slivers as called for, while one on the right has toasted chopped walnuts. I didn’t realize the mistake until a day or two after making this almond boneless chicken recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, but also didn’t notice it when actually tasting the delicious twist on chicken.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
First, despite this being an almond dish, I admit accidentally using chopped walnuts in the breading. I didn’t notice the difference until a few days after finishing off the last of the leftovers and looking at the photos, so I don’t think it made much of a difference.
Second, after we finished dinner MT asked if this recipe was hard. I had a bit of trouble figuring out the right response. Technically, I would say no — especially if you buy thin-cut chicken breasts as I did, thus avoiding the need to slice thicker breasts into two thinner halves. But it is a breaded and fried dish, and anytime you have to season, dredge, flour and fry something the difficulty tends to increase, especially if you aren’t used to breading meats. I am, so it was more time-consuming than hard.
And lastly, if you don’t like almonds, either don’t bother making this, or skip the nuts all together and just relay on the breading (we both agreed it’s light and unobtrusive) and the sauce (which I found to be particularly tasty).
All that said, I really liked this, and MT gave it thumbs up, too. It has the bonus of making a fairly striking presentation if you follow the instructions and serve on a bed of sliced lettuce on a large tray.
Dobru chut!
Almond Boneless Chicken (America’s Test Kitchen)
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons hoisin
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
4 six-to-eight ounce boneless chicken breasts, cut in half to two thinner pieces
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted and divided: 1/4 cup finely chopped, ¼ cup just sliced)
2 cups flour divided (1 cup each)
1 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon pepper
1¼ cups pilsner/lager beer, (mild, not stout or IPA), can use seltzer or club soda
1 large egg, beaten lightly.
1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed and cut in half, then cut into thin slices.
3 scallions thinly sliced
Mix chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry, hoisin and salt in a saucepan. Whisk, then bring to a boil.
Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water to make a thickening slurry. Add to boiling sauce and whisk until it returns to a boil and thickens, about 30 seconds. Cover and set aside, stirring occasionally while keeping warm
Pat chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
In large bowl whisk chopped toasted almonds, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add beer and egg and whisk lightly to mix together into a batter.
Mix 1 cup flour with 1 teaspoon salt and whisk together in shallow dish.
Heat vegetable oil, about 1½-inch deep in dutch oven, to 350°.
While oil is heating, dip chicken, 1 piece at a time, into batter. Drain excess and dredge through seasoned flour, then place on rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment.
Put chicken into heated oil and fry about 2 minutes to golden on one side, then flip and fry 2 more minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels in rimmed sheet. If doing batches (4 pieces at a time), let oil rise back to 350° before starting next batch (I kept finished chicken in an oven on warm).
Arrange lettuce on large platter. Cut each chicken piece into about ½ inch slices and set on lettuce. Drizzle sauce over each breast, sprinkle with scallions and top with toasted sliced almonds.
