Tomato-y Chicken

Growing up in Seoul, ordering food delivery was a regular part of my life. There were countless restaurants within walking distance from pretty much any point in the city. And the delivery men were so fast and adept. They rode the motorcycle like an action hero on a mission and handed out my dishes with ninja skills. All I needed to do was call a number from a flyer, put in my order, and I would get my food within 20 minutes. Sometimes faster. No tips.

One of the most common delivery food was chicken. There were always two choices; Fried or seasoned. Ah, the dilemma. Every time. Often, I’d resort to half fried and half seasoned.

I wanted to replicate the seasoned chicken from Seoul, but there were a few problems. First, typical seasoned chicken is too spicy for my toddler. So I made a tomato-y sauce that tastes like ketchup instead of using chili and gochujang. Second, I couldn’t be bothered to stand in front of the stove and fry the chicken one by one, so I baked the chicken instead. Chicken nuggets, to be more exact. A 21-month old can’t be trusted with chicken bones. Third, I had to omit the peanut crust due to munchkin’s nut-free school policy.

Cornflake Chicken Nuggets

(Full recipe at the bottom of the post)

We start by making baked chicken nuggets. I used cornflake breading, but you can use any breading of your choice. Crushed peanuts mixed with panko/cornflakes would be my choice if it weren’t for the nut-free policy.

If you want a crunchy texture, put the cornflakes in a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin. Crush the cornflakes until you have them at the size of steel cut oatmeals. For an airy texture, put them in the food processor and process to a powdery texture.

Tomato-y Chicken Sauce

This sauce tastes similar to ketchup but a tad healthier than it. While the nuggets are baking, mix all the ingredients and pour into a large pan. Once the nuggets are cooked, bring the sauce to a boil. Mix in the nuggets and stir for a couple of minutes until nuggets are well coated.

In the end, it reminded me of American-Chinese food (think Panda Express) than Korean seasoned chicken. Regardless, munchkin, hubs and I were all happy with full bellies.

A few of my favorite products:
You can buy this beautiful OmieBox Bento Lunch Box (top photo) from this link. It’s actually the very first bento box I bought for munchkin because of the thermos and the gorgeous sunshine color. I mainly use the thermos to keep cold items safe when we are out and about for a while. Munchkin still eats warm food at room temperature, so I haven’t tested very hot food in there.
Grabease Utensil Set: These untensils are great for little ones just learning how to use a fork and a spoon. Nowadays, I mainly use them for on-the-go since they are so compact.
Bumkins Grip Dish, Zelda: I simply love the geometric shape of this dish.
(If you buy from these links, it won’t cost you a penny more, but I’ll get a small compensation. 😙)

5 from 2 votes

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Cornflake Chicken nuggets

Author whiteblankspace

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb chicken breast chopped
• 2 cups whole milk optional
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 cup cornflakes

Instructions

1. (optional) Chop the chicken into bite sizes and soak in milk. Let it sit in the fridge for 20 min. This step is to tenderize the chicken.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Wash the milk off of the chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. 

3. In a bowl, whisk 2 eggs, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/4 cup water. Process cornflakes in a food processor or a high-speed blender until they turn into powder.

4. Dip the seasoned chicken into the egg-flour-water mixture. Take out one piece at a time and roll on the cornflake powder until it's well coated. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Optional: Spray cooking oil on top of the nuggets.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then broil for another 3-5 minutes until the nuggets are golden brown. 

5 from 2 votes

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Tomato-y Chicken Sauce

Author whiteblankspace

Ingredients

• 4.5 oz tomato paste
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp garlic minced
• 1 lb baked chicken nuggets

Instructions

1. Pour the mixture into a large pan and cook until bubbly.

2. Add the chicken nuggets and stir, coating the nuggets with the sauce. Cook over medium heat for a couple minutes.