Baked Quinoa-Crusted Chicken Fingers

The other day I reopened the cookbook, The Food of Latin America: Gran Cocina Latina by Marciel E. Presilla.  I perused the vast index to find something to make for dinner. I found the recipe for quinoa-crusted chicken fingers that I’ve had at Cucharamama a few times & have loved. They’re a great twist on the basic chicken finger.

First, you marinate the chicken so that it’s sure to be juicy & flavorful - if you wanted to stop right there you probably could & have a really nice grilled chicken dish. Then, you “bread” it with cooked quinoa instead of breadcrumbs - genius!  At Cucharmama they deep fry theirs (& that’s what the recipe in the book says to do) but I baked them. They were still crunchy & tasty especially with my simple go-to honey mustard dipping sauce that I jazzed up with some paprika.

I know I’ll be making these again. There were no leftovers.

Recipe adapted from The Food of Latin America: Gran Cocina Latina by Marciel E. Presilla

Ingredients for the chicken:

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 lb), cut into 3-by-1-inch strips

Ingredients for the marinade:

• 1/2 cup orange juice (I used the pineapple, orange, banana juice I had in the fridge & it worked great)
• 1 lime, juice & zest
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped & then mashed with a mortar & pestle
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients for the quinoa crust

• 1-2 cups boiled quinoa (follow the directions of the package or make it like I did here without the vinegar)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt & pepper

Ingredients for baking

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

OR! Ingredients for frying

• 3 cups corn oil

Ingredients for dipping sauce

• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)

Make it!

1. In a medium bowl, combine the orange juice, lime juice & zest, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt & pepper. Mix well.
2. Add the chicken strips & toss well.
3. Let chicken marinate for an hour.
4. Set up your “breading” stations. In one bowl, add the flour & season with salt & pepper.
5. In the second bowl, add the lightly beaten eggs & season with salt & pepper.
6. In the third bowl, add only half the quinoa & add more as needed. This way if you have extra you can actually eat it if it hasn’t touched the raw chicken.
7. Wipe the excess marinade from the chicken pieces & dip them into the flour. Shake them to remove excess flour.
8. Add the floured chicken to the egg mixture & coat well.
9. Roll the chicken around  in the quinoa to cover it entirely.
10. Place “breaded” chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (if baking - if not baking you can skip the parchment paper).
11. For baking: if you’re baking these, pre-heat your oven to 350. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. I broiled mine for the last 2 minutes on each side to ensure crunch.
12. OR!! For frying: If you are frying them refrigerate them until you’re ready to fry. Once you’re ready to fry them heat the oil to 350 in a medium saucepan or deep skillet. Add the chicken in 3 or 4 batches & fry, turning with tongs until lightly golden on all sides, about 3 minutes per batch. Lift out from the oil with a slotted spoon & drain for 1 minute on paper towels.
13. While the chicken cooks mix all the ingredients for the honey mustard dipping sauce together in a small bowl.
14. Serve chicken hot with the honey mustard dipping sauce.