Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip

September 22, 2014

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip


Let’s be honest, sometimes being a dude blogger is tough.
The blogosphere is pretty much run by girls, moms, women.
Which is not a bad thing, at all. In fact, it is a very good thing, making the blogging world a kinder, more amiable place.
But there are certain topics - important to us, men - that are kinda off-limits in the blogosphere.
Such as consuming ridiculous amounts of cheap swill, farting in a crowded elevator, world’s loudest belcher, top drinking games, et cetera, et cetera. [Yes women of the world, though we look mature, we still think/act like kiddos — we haven’t grown up a bit!]
At the same time, we can’t talk about sparkles, rainbows, unicorns and glitter and expect to be taken seriously. We don’t have the knowledge to do it. Plus, we will subject ourselves to public humiliation and private doubt.

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip
Which means that a dude blogger has a narrower number of topics to talk about.
Yet, I think that there are things I should discuss on my [dude] blog no matter what. Even if they’re not so...what’s the word I’m looking for...female-appealing.
Like football.
Football is important to (most) men in a way that nothing else is — the aggression and the warlike strategy of attacking and defending ground top the list, followed by its stature as a beer and chicken fingers-consumption opportunity.
I will go far as saying that football is to men what Sex&TheCity + Scandal + GreysAnatomy is to (most) women.
That's why I feel it's my duty to talk about it.

Yogurt & Mint
And I’m not gonna lie to you, men actually do appreciate women that can have a conversation about football. Who know what the hell is going on during a play rather asking us to explain what is happening.
Such as what is the line of scrimmage — spelled s-c-r-i-m-mage not s-c-r-e-a-m-mage, no one’s screaming on the football field.
Or what it means to get the tight end involved in the game plan.
Women that do not comment on which team wears “the better outfit” (which is a uniform btw) or don't say “I feel bad for the kicker, he must feel really bad!”
But if you’re not into football, you don’t have to pretend it to be, it-doesn’t-really-matter. That’s what football friends are for.

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip

Just fuel the armchair athletes with their favorite game-watching grub, and I swear, they are gonna love you even more than if you watch the game with them.
Or better yet, you can show them how to make their own fave game-day food. Self-sufficiency is important.
Let’s take these chicken fingers for instance.
I can't think of an easier recipe to prepare than this.
Anyone - including my dad, my 6-year old niece and probably even my now-dead goldfish - can make these chicken fingers happen. It’s so easy.
There’s just some dipping and rolling involved, then let the oven do the rest.
And BOOM!

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip

The ultimate chicken fingers.
See that, right there? An amazing sesame coconut crust, packed with so much flavor, you barely even need the dipping sauce (which, btw, it's delish so yes you totally need it!)

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip

This is like perfect game-day food. So perfect, you should actually make it every day. Football or no football.

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip

Ultimate Sesame Coconut Chicken Fingers with Minty Yogurt Dip            Print this recipe!
Inspired by, and adapted from TheHealthyFoodie

Ingredients
Serves 6 as an appetizer

Chicken Fingers

2 large free-range chicken breasts (about 1 lb), cut into strips
1 cup / 4.3 oz / 112 gr almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
½ cup 1.5 oz / 42 gr unsweetened shredded coconut
4 tablespoons arrowroot powder*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 free-range organic eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil

Minty Yogurt Dip

1 container (7 oz / 200 gr) plain Greek yogurt
4 sprigs fresh mint
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
½ garlic clove, smashed
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Ground black pepper to taste

*arrowroot powder acts like cornstarch.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk almond flour, shredded coconut, arrowroot powder, mustard, paprika, cayenne pepper, sesame seeds, salt and black pepper.
Dip chicken strips in the eggs and let excess drip off, then drop in the almond flour mix bowl to coat on all sides. Place coated chicken strips onto the lined baking sheet and repeat until all chicken is used.
Drizzle with olive oil, place in the oven and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Flip halfway through the cooking time.
In the meantime make the minty yogurt dip. Pick and finely chop the mint leaves, discarding the stalks.
In a bowl combine yogurt, chopped mint, lemon zest, lemon juice, smashed garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
When chicken strips are ready, allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet and then serve with the dipping sauce.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 337 calories, 23 grams of fat, 11 grams of carbs and 25 grams of protein.

32 comments:

  1. Now, I will gladly talk to you about "farting in a crowded elevator, (or) world’s loudest belcher" even challenge you to a contest (TMI?) but gah - I am not a huge football fan - when ever I have watched a game with friends - I am drawn to the food and those dude's padded derrieres (apparently there are some of us gals who "still think/act like kiddos — we haven’t grown up a bit" either :)
    All kidding aside - totally digging thee almond meal and sesame coated chicken fingers and that container for that minty yogurt is just (dare I say it) too cute!!

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    1. That little blue bucket is sik and it costed me just $1. Cool right?
      So when we can start debating who's the world's loudest belcher? It one of my fave topic eva!

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  2. I needed a good laugh to start my day, thank you. And those chicken fingers are fantastic!

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  3. Lololol, so you're THAT guy in the elevator? :-) I'm totally not into football, but neither am I the chick inquiring as to what's going on. I'd be the one in the kitchen making these delicious chicken fingers (like that segue?).

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    1. I'm so not that guy, but I like to talk about that guy, a lot ;)
      Loving the segue Lauren, ha!

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  4. My favorite thing when I was little was to watch the game with my grandpa! Somewhere along the line, I lost interest in football and started cooking instead! :) And BTW I think you're rockin' it with the dude blog thing - rainbows and unicorns can get pretty boring, variety and humor is always awesome!

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  5. Something very odd and unusual and unexpected happened to me. After moving to the US, my love for soccer slowly but steadily turned into love for American football. I find the strategy of the game pretty enticing, and soccer to me became a game in which bad ruling rules. Grown up men rolling on the floor as sissies to try and get a penalty kick. SHAME. Ok, spare me and let's not talk about the last World Cup.I haven't recovered yet from that epic disaster.

    I think dude bloggers are super cool, honest - I follow four male bloggers (wow, that sounds a little naughty) and would not like to miss one of their posts ever.

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    1. So basically you're cheating on me with three other dudes...nice Sally, really nice... ;)

      About soccer. One of my roommates a couple of years ago was a British lad from London. Huge Arsenal fan. I started watching the English Premier League with him every saturday morning and I've been hooked on it ever since; it's so much fun.
      I don't know much about Brazilian soccer unfortunately. What team you're rooting for?

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    2. I always rooted for Sao Paulo, the best team from my hometown. That really pissed off my Dad (who rooted for Corinthians), my Mom and one of my sisters who rooted for Santos (Pele' original team). My other sister is a mutant. She doesn't care for soccer.

      Mike, I lied to you, and I am sorry. There are four other dude bloggers, not three. Please forgive me. You are number one, though.

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    3. I'd better be number one!
      I was just looking at the standing of Brazil SérieA. Sao Paolo seems to be doing pretty well. Second in the league, 7 points behind Cruzeiro. Tomorrow night they're playing against Flamengo, is it going to be a good game? If so, I need to find a way to watch it...

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    4. Sao Paulo and Flamengo is always a classic - the rivalry between Sao Paulo and Rio is something! I'd say the only classic that would be this is a match between Flamengo and Fluminense, two of the best teams from Rio, this game is usually called "Fla-Flu" for obvious reasons. You are in for a great match....

      I had no idea Cruzeiro was doing so well - things really changed since my departure from Brazil.... yeah, like me getting 20 years older (sigh)

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    5. I meant BEAT this. BEAT this. Fast fingers, very slow brains.

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  6. HI Mike, love that you added coconut to the mix, looks delicious!

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  7. It's hard to believe that these chicken fingers are baked and not fried.. they look so golden, crispy and crunchy! Another delicious recipe Mike!

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    1. They are baked indeed and so crunchy and crispy. you wouldn't believe.

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  8. This looks so great and yummy. Besides, OMG, the photos are so inviting.

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  9. ::clap:: ::clap:: ::clap:: Being a dude food blogger is hard! So many things we need to censor ourselves with hahahaha. And yea, totally can't get away with all the "cutesy" stuff that women get away with. So not fair. These chicken fingers sound amazing dude... that crispy coating looks legit! #wolfpackeats

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    1. ::thank you::thank you::thank you::But I'm actually bummed that we can't talk about unicorns and rainbows, I don't think it's fair!

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  10. Wait. What happened to your goldfish?

    And I couldn't agree with you more about the dude food blogging world. It's a small, tight-knit community. But it's pretty awesome. Take this guy Mike, for instance. He made these delicious-looking chicken fingers the other day...and then he mailed them to me so I could eat them while watching football at my house. He also included a 6-pack of his favorite brew in the box. What a nice guy! #WolfpackEats

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    1. I'm not sure you wanna hear that story David. It involves a 5 year-old niece, a toilet and a goldfish...

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  11. If you need to talk about belching I'll listen... as look as you pile me up a plate of this coconut chicken fingers! :) They look scrumptious.
    Pinned to our Coconut Obsession board!

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    1. Thanks Melanie, I need to follow that Coconut Obsession board. Where can I find it?

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  12. Definitely love this recipe,
    i once made this kind of nuggets with salmon fiillet, but it's deep fried for my nephews..
    i guess this baked version suits even more for me!

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  13. I'm deathly allergic to coconut, but I might be willing to pop out the epi-pen for these chicken fingers, Mike. They sound fabulous!

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    1. OMG please don't do it you can definitely sub the coconut with something like oats or wheat flour. They'll just as good, I promise ;)

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  14. Hi Mike! I'm a newbie to Paleo and am taking part of a month long challenge at my gym. I love to cook, entertain and eat, obviously!, so I was fearful of a month full of bland, boring, plain dishes. I've been pleasantly surprised by all the palatable dishes in Paleoworld and this one from you is no exception. Paleo chicken fingers? Well, ok! These came out great though not as golden as yours. Perhaps I erred on using too little ghee but the flavors were great. I made a riff on your dipping sauce with sriracha and served them up with crispy baked sweet potato fries. Fantastic! I can offer them up to my football watching family, a mix of guys and girls, and feel good about serving up "football grub." Thank you!

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  15. LOOKS DELICIOUS, BUT USE A LITTLE GLASS JAR LINER IN THAT CUTE BLUE POT FOR THE DIP -it COULD HAVE LEAD IN IT!

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