Crispy McNuggets-style chicken nuggets

Ingredients

Chicken

• 500 g chicken breast, cut into 2.5 cm chunks
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp white pepper

Crust

• 150 g plain flour
• 30 g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 200 ml cold sparkling water

Dipping sauces

• Sweet and sour (jar)
• BBQ sauce (jar)
• Curry sauce (mild curry powder + mayo + tomato ketchup)

Method

1. Marinate. Toss chicken chunks with salt and white pepper. Rest 15 minutes.
2. Dry mix. Combine flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and white pepper in a bowl.
3. Wet batter. Just before frying, pour the cold sparkling water into the dry mix and stir briefly — lumps are fine, overmixing is the enemy.
4. Coat. Dip chicken chunks into the batter, then straight into hot oil. Don’t drain excess.
5. Fry. Cook at 175°C for 4–5 minutes until deep golden. Drain on a rack (not paper — keeps them crisp).
6. Sauces. Spoon three into small ramekins and serve alongside.

Tips

• Sparkling water in the batter is the secret to that craggy, bubbly crust. Still water = flat crust.
• Fry in small batches. Crowding drops the oil temp and makes them greasy.
• Want a “more chicken, less crust” ratio? Double-dip: batter → flour → batter → fry.