I lived in my mother’s house almost deprived of anything fried for 2 main reasons. First, she always hated the 3 steps of coating; flour then egg then breadcrumbs. Second, she hated the process of frying more than anything in the world.

When I got married, I did nothing in the kitchen buy FRY FRY FRY! We ate fried food almost every day for the first year hahahahaha … To be honest, the preparation steps take long time & create a lot of mess + dish washing. 

Being an addict of fried chicken, I tried various means to have tender & juicy chicken that required less mess. 

This recipe right here is a gift that you will thank me for later … you simply marinade the chicken, coat it with breadcrumbs then … you are done!

Fry, Bake or Freeze!

A very simple marination that requires no fancy ingredients yet works magic in making the chicken JUICY, TENDER & FLAVORFUL. Below are 2 means for cooking the chicken; either frying or baking for a healthier option.

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

• 1 kg chicken breast fillet thinly sliced, washed & drained
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk لبن رايب
• 1 1/2 tbsp BBQ sauce صوص باربكيو
• 3-4 dashes hot sauce (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder بودرة ثوم
• 1/2 tsp onion powder بودرة بصل
• 1/2 tsp paprika بابريكا
• 1/8 tsp turmeric كركم
• 1/8 tsp cardamom حبهان 
• salt & pepper

For the breading:

In case of frying:

• 2 cups breadcrumbs بقسماط 
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal دقيق درة أصفر
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

• oil for frying

In case of baking:

• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs بقسماط 
• 1 /2 cups crushed plain cornflakes
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

• olive oil for baking

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with all the marinade ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate for 6 hours up to overnight.
2. Place chicken in a sieve (مصفاة) over a bowl to drain any excess liquid.
3. Mix the breading ingredients together. Coat the chicken slices with the breading mixture; pressing well with your hands to make sure it sticks to the chicken.
4. In case of frying: Pour oil to cover the bottom of a large pan & heat on the stove over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken until golden on both sides.
5. In case of baking: Preheat oven to 200 C. Brush or spray a non stick baking tray with olive oil. Place the chicken on the baking tray & brush/spray the upper side with more oil. Bake the chicken for about 20-25 minutes flipping the chicken once in the middle.
6. Serve immediately.

Notes:

1. You can use chicken strips or thicker chicken slices but the cooking time will vary accordingly.
2. Adding 3-4 dashes of hot sauce to the marinade will not make it spicy; it will just make it more flavorful.
3. You can add the marinade spices to the breading mixture but I personally don’t prefer that as I feel the spices overpower the taste of the chicken.
4. In case of baking the chicken, wait until the oven is hot.
5. After breading the chicken, you can freeze it but separate the slices so they don’t stick together.
6. Local brands of yellow cornmeal دقيق الدرة الأصفر are found in all large supermarkets.