Nuttermilk Chicken
I can’t even remember how nuttermilk chicken came about in my kitchen, but I make it often now. I love how tender the chicken gets from soaking in the coconut milk!
You probably know buttermilk chicken…
Meet NUTTERmilk chicken. All about tender pieces of chicken soaked in coconut milk (or cream!), and finely chopped nuts and desiccated coconut for a crispy coating. It’s also all done in the oven, rather than fried in a pan - unless, of course, you want to do your own thing (which is always allowed!).
This method makes your chicken pieces tender and soft on the inside, lovely and crispy on the outside and incredibly flavourful. And I really recommend saving a few pieces in the coconut milk marinade for the next day, I’ll tell you below how I’ve used them below too!
Nuttermilk Chicken
For 2 people
Prep time: 15 minutes (+marinading time: 30 min minimum) | Cook time: 15 minutes
2 large chicken breast fillets
1 can of coconut milk or coconut cream (I recommend cream!)
1/2 cup of finely chopped nuts (any mix of almonds, pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts or whatever you fancy!)
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
A pinch of salt and pepper (x2)
Any additional seasoning you might like: some smoked paprika, herbs like sage/thyme/parsley, garlic powder…
2 eggs (or egg alternative for binding)
1 cup of flour (you can use a nut flour if you prefer)
1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Cut your raw chicken pieces in to chicken tender pieces, about 3 from each fillet. In a bowl or plastic box, put the chicken, sprinkle over some salt and pepper and pour over the coconut cream or milk. Cover the bowl or close the lid on the box and let the chicken marinade in the coconut cream for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer (if any longer than 30 minutes, let it marinade in the fridge).
Take the chicken out if in the fridge and preheat your oven to about 180ºC (160ºC for fan assisted ovens), about 350ºF. Put baking paper on a baking tray
Take three separate bowls and fill one with flour, one with whisked eggs and the third with the nuts and coconut, salt and pepper and other seasoning of your choice (mix well).
Take each piece of chicken out of the coconut milk, cover it in flour, then in the whisked egg, and finally cover it well in the nut/coconut mix. Place the pieces on the covered baking tray and drizzle some olive oil over them.
Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes, turning halfway through. If you want to crisp them up even further you can change to the grill setting on your oven for the last minute or so, or there is of course the option of frying them in a pan (just slightly less healthy with the extra oil etc!).
These crispy chicken tenders will stop you from ever wanting a cheap chicken takeaway meal, especially if you learn how to perfect the seasoning that gets you really excited. This is a healthy, but calorie dense meal (with the coconut and all the nuts), so use that to your advantage, great for a day when you’ve been or plan to be really active, for example!
This dish is brilliant all year round as it can really change depending on what you have with it. It’s lovely with a potato salad or coleslaw in the summer, I love it with a warm mash on colder days, and you could even serve it with some roasted or even boiled vegetables or a salad!
Bonus tip: If you marinade a little bit more chicken than exactly what you need for this meal, definitely keep it in the fridge for the next day. One of my favourite things is to stirfry the leftover chicken pieces and remaining coconut cream with some carrot, broccoli and noodles, and add a bit of soy sauce and lime juice for a super tasty lunch with lovely and extremely tender coconut chicken. It’s an entirely different meal from what you will have had the day before, but without wasting that lovely coconut marinade!
Did you make the nuttermilk chicken? What did you have it with? Share on Instagram and tag @TheFromScratchBody and hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
