Chicken Selects-style crispy chicken strips

Ingredients

Chicken

• 500 g chicken breast, cut into 2 cm × 8 cm strips
• 200 ml buttermilk
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp onion powder

Crust

• 150 g plain flour
• 30 g cornflour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp white pepper
• Oil for shallow frying

Dipping sauces

• BBQ sauce (jar)
• Sweet chili sauce (jar)

Method

1. Brine. Toss chicken strips with buttermilk, salt, white pepper, and onion powder. Rest 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours in the fridge).
2. Dry mix. Combine flour, cornflour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and white pepper in a shallow bowl.
3. Dredge. Lift each strip out of the buttermilk, let excess drip, then press firmly into the dry mix. Coat evenly.
4. Fry. Heat 1 cm of oil to 175°C. Fry strips in batches (don’t crowd) for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and cooked through.
5. Drain. Lift onto a wire rack. Rest 2 minutes — cooking continues from residual heat.
6. Serve. Pile onto a board or into a paper-lined carton. Small bowls of BBQ and sweet chili on the side.

Tips

• Uniform strips = even cooking. Take the extra 2 minutes to cut them all the same size.
• Drain on a wire rack, not kitchen paper. Paper traps steam and softens the crust.
• For extra-crunchy strips, double-dredge: flour → buttermilk → flour → fry.