Photo by queensleeappetit.
Recently, I’ve been trying to avoid eating out too much.
I remember I would order Fluffies Hot Chicken almost every week! This was not good for my health or my wallet.
Although I’ve successfully stopped ordering from there frequently, my cravings for hot fried chicken and their fries never went away.
One day, as I was scrolling on my for you page on Instagram, I noticed an influencer making hot fried chicken at home with corn flakes and an air fryer. I was shocked, but also so relieved because I found a sustainable way to alleviate my craving at the comfort of my own home!
So let’s get into how to make a healthy version of the hot fried chicken with fries.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast
- Potatoes
- Cabbage or lettuce, pickled jalapeños, bell peppers, and pickles
- Corn flakes or Frosted Flakes cereal
- Flour
- Eggs
- Seasonings: red chili powder, cayenne pepper, Tajín, garlic powder, onion powder, garam masala powder, salt and pepper
- Condiments: Mayonaise, sriracha, honey
- Cooking oil spray or olive oil
Hot Fried Chicken
- Grab 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast and cut them up into big chunks
- Grab 2 cups of corn flakes and crush them up in a grinder. I personally did not have a grinder or corn flakes so I substituted this step by blending up Frosted Flakes cereal in a blender.
- Corn flakes mix: Mix in 1 tbsp of red chili powder, 1 tbsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp of Tajín, 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of onion powder, 1 tsp of garam masala powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper
- Flour mix: Grab 1/2 cup flour and mix in 1 tsp of red chili powder, 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of Tajín, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp of garam masala powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper
- Egg mix: Combine 2 eggs and mix in 1 tsp of red chili powder, 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of Tajín, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp of garam masala powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper
- Coat your chicken in this order: flour mix, egg mix, and then corn flakes mix. Repeat this process for all of the chicken breast pieces
- Place your coated chicken into the air fryer. The setting should be 380° for 18-20 minutes. Spray some no stick cooking spray oil on all the chicken pieces when they’re placed in the air fryer.
- While the chicken fries, you can make the hot honey sauce. For this, you will just need 2 tbsp of honey, black pepper, 1 tsp of red chili powder, and 1 tsp of cayenne pepper. Mix and microwave for 10 seconds.
- Once the chicken is done frying in the air fryer, coat each piece in the hot honey sauce.
Fries
- Preheat your over to 375°
- Grab 3 potatoes and peel them
- Place the potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes to remove the starch
- Dry the potatoes once you take them out of the water
- Cut them up into your desired shape or size of fries.
- Place a wax paper on top of a baking sheet pan and spray it with nonstick cooking oil spray. Place the fries onto the pan. Drizzle olive oil or a hefty amount or cooking oil spray onto the fries
- Season the fries with 1 tsp of garam masala powder, 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of red chili powder, and some salt and pepper
- Bake the fries in the over at 375° for 20 minutes. Then 475° for 10 more minutes or until crispy.
Coleslaw
I noticed that I was missing coleslaw and pickles, which is a crucial part of the dish. It adds a fresh component to the dish. I had some lettuce, bell peppers and pickled jalapeño peppers that I cut up into fine pieces.
I recommend you shred cabbage and mix it in mayo and vinegar to make the coleslaw. Do not skip out on the pickles because I wish I hadn’t!
Sauce
Finally, for the creamy orange sauce, I mixed together 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp sriracha, 1 tbsp of honey, and 1 tsp of chili powder. Microwave these for 10 seconds and drizzle on top of your fried chicken, fries and salad.
I was very pleased with this dish. It took a while to put everything together, but it was so worth it.
This is a great dish to make for potlucks or get togethers with family or friends. It’s also great for if you are trying to avoid eating out, but miss hot chicken.
