This weekend, my friend Dustin and his roommate had an ugly sweater party with a bit of a Nordic theme. In addition to a couple Nordic-related desserts, Dustin asked if I’d being a hot appetizer and I decided I wanted to try something new. After perusing MarthaStewart.com for a bit, I came across the perfect recipe: Panko-Crusted Chicken Bites with Apricot-Mustard Sauce. They’re basically chicken nuggets, only a whole lot healthier since they’re just lightly breaded and baked, instead of fried. But really? I thought they were absolutely delicious and would choose to eat these over any fried chicken nugget any day. In case you’re wondering, panko is also known as Japanese breadcrumbs and you should be able to find it in your grocery store, likely in the Asian section.
What you’ll need for the chicken nuggets:
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs), cut into 1 inch cubes.
- 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 C panko breadcrumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 1 C apricot jam or preserves
- 1/4 C dijon mustard
- 1 t thyme leaves, chopped
Sara came over before the party and helped me make them before we got all dressed up in our ugly sweater outfits. She cut up all the chicken, which is probably the worst job ever and the hardest part of the whole thing. Also quite impressive because I know Sara isn’t the biggest fan of handling raw chicken. Anyway, she cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
While Sara was chopping the chicken, I got out 3 mixing bowls. In one, I put the flour, salt, and pepper.
In another I whisked together 2 eggs and added 2 T water.
And in the third, I combined the panko, olive oil, grated cheese, and cayenne and mixed them together well. 
Then Sara and I started an assembly line of sorts. We put 1/3 of the chicken pieces into the flour and tossed until the chicken was well coated. Then we put the chicken in the egg mixture. And lastly, we put the pieces in the bowl with the panko and made sure each piece was completely covered in the breadcrumbs.We placed the chicken on a wire rack sprayed with cooking spray, which was on top of a parchment paper-lined cookie tray. We repeated the process until all of the chicken was coated in breadcrumbs.
We placed the racks with the chicken into the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. When we removed it, the chicken was nicely browned and crispy.
I admit I was a little sketched out by the accompanying sauce…apricot preserves and dijon mustard? Um OK. And then I made it and realized it was a more delicious version of honey mustard and actually complimented the chicken quite deliciously. And all you have to do is combine the preserves and dijon and then throw in some thyme.
When we got to the party, we assembled the chicken on a couple of plates and added some toothpicks for serving; and by the end of the night, it was all gone!
The party was a blast and there was tons of delicious food (note to self: Get Dustin’s buffalo chicken dip to make for a future party. Amazing), awesome people, and Icelandic vodka. Sara and I had matching ugly sweater outfits and though there were tons of absolutely hilarious sweaters, I’m pretty sure Steven and Dustin probably had the best ugly sweaters of all. I can’t wait for the next party!
[Sues]
they were amazing! you know what i was thinking, too? dip them in dustin’s buffalo chicken dip. OMG. that would have been amazing! need that recipe.
ohhh. those sound delicious! such a grown up chicken nugget!!
This dish is great, easy to do, fast to make and the ingredients are fairly cheap. A little tip is to pound the chicken pieces a little to make them tender, pretty much as you do when you’re making Wiener Schnitzel. Try the nuggets with a good Bearnaise recipe.
YUM those sound great. what fun little app.
I just emailed this post from my google reader to my boyfriend so that we can make it because it looks delicious.
oh helloooo yum!!! These look fabulous and how much do you love panko?!
Wow u made this in the oven.
It looks so yumm and crunchy.
I don’t have this panco meal, should look in the asian store when i go next time.
These look great and I am sure they will be incredible with a number of dips!!
I love that dip bowl!
P.S. I’ve just tagged you for an award on my blog!
http://megan-deliciousdishings.blogspot.com/2009/01/honest-scrap-blog-award.html
i made these and all I can say is yummmmmmmmmmm
These sound so good, love the idea of putting jam in the dipping sauce. I’ll have to try these soon!
oooh i think I might do a mini version of this tonight for my dinner with the one lone frozen chicken breast thawing in my fridge.
PS. love, love, LOVE the Pink Panther sweater!
I am making this tonight, it looks awesome!
I like the sound of crispy chicken and this dipping sauce!