Coconut Chicken Strips

I made coconut shrimp a few weeks back for a thanksgiving appetizer, and I loved the flavor and the dipping sauce, so I decided to use the same recipe and concept to make coconut chicken strips.  As a kid, chicken tenders were one of my favorite meals, and it was nice to find a new twist on chicken tenders that I liked.  The sauce was very good with the coconut chicken tenders, although next time I'll also have some honey mustard for dipping just because I love chicken tenders and honey mustard together.

Ingredients:

Peanut oil (or you could also use canola or vegetable oil), for frying
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
3 large eggs
splash of milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic powder

Zesty Dipping Sauce-
1 (6-ounce) jar orange marmalade
1/4 cup sweet Asian chili sauce
1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Make your dipping sauce just by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat.

Heat oil (enough to have a depth of about 1/2 of an inch) in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.

Season your chicken strips with salt and pepper and set aside.

In medium bowl mix together panko and coconut (I first put the coconut in the food processor and pulsed a few times to get the flakes a little smaller so that they would stick better to the chicken). In another medium bowl beat eggs with a splash of milk. In a third bowl mix flour, onion and garlic powder together. Dredge chicken in flour, then eggs, then the bread crumbs.

Place chicken in the large skillet and fry, in batches, until crisp and golden brown and cooked through; 7 to 10 minutes.  Drain on a paper towel-lined sheet tray. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.  Serve hot with Zesty Dipping Sauce on the side.