Burmese Chicken

I'm always looking for new (new to me anyways), exciting chicken recipes. Especially ones that don't call for smothering the chicken in a cream sauce or deep frying it to death.

I found this recipe on Foododelmundo, a great blog that I visit frequently. The original recipe comes from the cookbook Fire & Spice by Jacki Passmore.

These chicken tenders were fantastic. There was definitely that bite and spice from the cracked peppercorns in the sauce, but the brown sugar (which, by the way, I used Splenda's Brown Sugar Blend and it was perfect) gave the sauce a really nice sweetness.

The chicken itself was very flavorful. Hubby made the comment that even if you didn't make the sauce to go with these, it would be a very good oven "fried" chicken. I definitely agree, BUT the sauce is definitely worth the extra steps.

A few notes about the recipe. This recipe calls for chicken tenders or wings - I used chicken tenders, but I am sure wings would be wonderful as well. I didn't have fresh ginger on hand, so I substituted ground ginger. I also only had regular bread crumbs, not Panko. And, as I mentioned above, I used Splenda's Brown Sugar Blend in lieu of regular brown sugar. I did not have cracked peppercorns, but I did have the whole ones, so I followed the recipes directions for "cracking" them. Even with these changes, this dish was still a winner!  Oh, and if like us, you are cooking for only two, this recipe is very easily halved.

I served this on brown rice.
Burmese Chicken

2-3 lbs Chicken Wings or Tenders
2 Beaten Eggs
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Turmeric

2 Tbsp Minced Fresh Ginger

Combine in a large zip top bag.  Seal and massage.

Add in:

1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Zip up bag (leaving the air in) and shake to distribute evenly.

Place on sprayed baking sheet and bake at 425º for 20-25 minutes on each side (just 10-12 min on each side for tenders).

In a DEEP sauce pan combine:

1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro
1/4 Cup Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Cracked Black Peppercorns

**CRACKED Black Peppercorns are not that hot.  Using regular or course ground pepper would be TOO HOT! If you can’t find CRACKED Peppercorns you can make them by putting whole peppercorns in a bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. The pieces should be fairly large.

Stirring constantly, bring to heavy simmer/boil for 15 min. until slightly thickened.

Dunk each cooked tender in sauce with tongs or place tenders on tray and drizzle sauce over top.

Serve with Rice.