I love quick and easy recipes for the summer on busy days. I didn’t make the tenders below, I used some pre-frozen chicken tenders and cooked them in the air fryer. We couldn’t get enough of this sauce and I think next time I’ll make the smaller bite size chicken bites and coat with the sauce and use in a salad. Trust me you will love this sauce!!
Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders
(Adapted from Domestic Superhero)
For chicken tenders:
1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
2 eggs
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups canola oil or more depending on size of skillet
Add oil to a frying skillet (should be about 1.5 inches of oil), and heat over medium heat.
Place egg into a shallow bowl, set aside. Set panko and red pepper flakes into a different shallow bowl, mix to combine, set aside. Dip each tender into egg, then coat with panko breadcrumbs. Set aside.
Place tenders into heated oil in the frying skillet. Don’t overcrowd the skillet, cook in batches (I did 4-5 each batch). Fry for 3-4 minutes on the first side, when browned flip to other side, cook 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove from skillet and set on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat for all tenders.
For Sauce:
2 cloves garlic minced
2 TBS brown sugar
⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
1.5 TBS Sriracha hot sauce this is a medium amount of spice, tone it down if you don’t like spicy
1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
1 inch fresh ginger grated
2 TBS water
1 TBS cornstarch
2 TBS cilantro chopped
Add garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, sriracha, peanut butter, ginger, water, and cornstarch to a small sauce pot. Whisk to combine completely. Heat over medium high heat and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer and let sauce thicken (should only take a minute or 2). If sauce seems too thick, add a bit of water to thin it.
Carefully take each tender and dip into the sauce, coating completely. Repeat for all tenders. Serve immediately garnished with chopped cilantro.
