Asian Style Chicken Nuggets with Lemon Glaze

Chicken nuggets, we all love them, right? McDonald’s chicken nuggets are my absolute favorite, especially when they’re dunked into BBQ and sweet and sour sauce. But then I became a health conscious freak and swore that I would never touch their nuggets again.

That being said, I think it’s been a very long time since I had some decent chicken nuggets. It’s not like I would order them from the kid’s menu when I eat out, although I’ve been tempted to a couple of times. I think I might have even stolen a couple from my niece’s plate one time.

Yeah, I know, I can be a bit sketchy too.

Anyway, I’ve found an Asian style chicken nugget recipe that will knock your socks off. They’re first marinated in a super flavorful Asian marinade for a couple of hours and then they’re dusted with some flour before they get deep fried in some peanut oil. But that’s not all - they’re then glazed with a wonderfully semi-sweet lemon glaze, which gives off such refreshing flavor. 

Serve it with some rice and you’ll have the best chicken nugget meal ever. 

So here’s how you make this:

Let’s first make the marinade by combining the rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame seed oil, garlic, ginger and green onions.

Then we’ll stir in the chicken, letting it marinate for at least 2 hours. You could alternatively combine all of this in a gallon size Ziploc bag.

After it’s done marinating, drain the marinade and toss the chicken with some flour.

Then comes the fun stuff - we’ll deep fry these babies in some peanut oil until they get nice and golden brown. They’ll cook fairly quickly, about 2-3 minutes.

Be sure to drain these bad boys on some fresh paper towels.

Finally, we’ll make the awesome lemon glaze by heating up some rice vinegar, sugar, lemon zest and juice, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water over medium low heat. We’ll let it get nice and thick, which should take about 1-2 minutes.

Now it’s time to serve the nuggets, either drizzled with the glaze or tossed in with the glaze, which I did here.

You could even be bad and toss the nuggets with the glaze and then drizzle on some more!

One year ago: Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry

Asian Style Chicken Nuggets with Lemon Glaze (adapted from Cooking in Sens):

Yields 2 servings

• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup peanut oil

For the lemon glaze:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a large bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame seed oil, garlic, ginger and green onions. In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine the marinade and chicken; marinate at least 2 hours, turning the bag occasionally.

Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and the flour.

Heat peanut oil in a cast iron skillet to 350 degrees F. Add the chicken and fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

To make the glaze, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, lemon zest and juice, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water over medium low heat. Bring to a boil, simmering until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

Serve the chicken nuggets immediately, tossed or drizzled with the lemon glaze.

Printer-Friendly Version