Coconut Chicken Tenders with Sweet and Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce

What’s not to love about Coconut Chicken Tenders with Sweet and Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce? These tenders chicken are covered in a crunchy coconut and panko coating. They are easy to make and delicious to eat!  

For a fun appetizer spread, serve with my Fried Hot Stuffed Cherry Peppers or Shrimp Wonton Chips!

Hi friends! It is a little sad to see summer slowly slip away. School just started for many children this week, and daylight hours have already dwindled little by little. I’m already missing those precious minutes of daylight.

One thing that I’m happy about is the approaching end of the watering season. I love having flowers in the yard, but the hours of standing around watering are wearing on me. There are other things I would rather be doing with those 60 minutes each day. I’ll be happy to reclaim those hours!

Now, let me tell you about these chicken tenders. They are tender with a crispy coating of sweetened coconut flakes and panko crumbs. They are served with a dipping sauce made with mango nectar, honey, Sriracha, and fish sauce and thickened with a little cornstarch. Yum!

The chicken tenders are great as an appetizer and perfect game-day food. They also make one heck of a good lunch or dinner! Serve with a side of greens and pasta, potatoes, or fries, and you’ve got yourself a fine meal!

Recipe highlights:

• For baked chicken tenders, toast coconut flakes in a 325° F oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside. If frying, there is no need to pre-bake the coconut flakes.
• Combine the seasoning mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl.
• In a wide shallow bowl, beat eggs, milk, and 1/3 of the seasoning mixture.
• Combine flour and the remaining seasoning mixture in a second shallow bowl.
• Combine coconut and panko crumbs in a third shallow bowl.
• Dip each chicken tender in flour mixture, then egg mixture, then coconut/panko mixture.

• Allow to rest for 30 minutes for the coating to adhere.
• Fry in 360° F oil for 5 to 8 minutes.
• Or bake at 400° F for 15 to 20 minutes.
• For the dipping sauce: combine all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to a boil until thickened, whisking frequently. 
• See the recipe card for detailed instructions.

Why pre-toast the coconut if I’m baking the tenders?

For this recipe, I provided instructions for frying and baking. If you choose to bake, I highly suggest toasting the coconut before breading the chicken. This is a little trick I picked up from the talented Nagi from RecipeTin Eats. If the coconut is not pre-toasted, the coating will not have that nice golden color or the crispiness once baked. Pre-toasting is worth taking the extra few minutes.

How to pre-toast the coconut flakes:

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet in a thin layer. Bake for 5-8 minutes, stirring halfway through. Keep a close eye on it at this point, as the coconut can go from pale to too brown within seconds.

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• This 12-inch stainless steel skillet is large enough to minimize the number of batches you need to cook. It comes with a glass cover too.
• This grease splatter screen reduces the amount of splashing and clean up after any frying job.
• A baking sheet. This comes with a cooling rack. I have the extra-large version of this and love it.
• Kitchen tongs to manipulate chicken strips.

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Coconut Chicken Tenders with Sweet and Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce

Author: Thao | In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Oven Baked/Roasted, Frying Cuisine:American Courses:Appetizer, Main Dish Recipe Keys: High Protein

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 18 minutesCook time: 15 minutesRest time: 30 minutesTotal time:1 hour 3 minutesServings:14 Pieces

Description

What’s not to love about Coconut Chicken Tenders with Sweet and Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce? These tenders chicken are covered in a crunchy coconut and panko coating. They are easy to make and delicious to eat!  

Ingredients

• 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
• 2 pounds chicken tenders
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• Oil for frying

Dipping Sauce:

• 1 cup mango nectar (affiliate link)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (affiliate link)
• 2 teaspoons honey

Suggested supplies (affiliate links):

• Grease splatter screen
• 10-inch frying pan

Instructions

1. If baking instead of frying chicken tenders, the coconut needs to be toasted. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, stirring halfway. Keep a close eye on the coconut after the halfway point as it goes from light to toasted within seconds. Remove and stir. Allow to cool. If frying, do not pre-toast the coconut.
2. Combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl. This is the seasoning mixture. Set aside.
3. Add eggs, milk, and 1/3 of the seasoning mixture to a wide, shallow bowl. Beat the eggs. Set aside.
4. Add flour and the remaining seasoning mixture into a second wide shallow bowl. Mix to combine.
5. In a third wide shallow bowl, combine coconut and panko crumbs.
6. To coat the chicken: dip it into the flour mixture, shaking off excess. Then dip it into the egg mixture, allowing the excess to drip off. Dip it into the coconut/panko mixture, patting the coconut onto the chicken. Place it onto a baking sheet. Continue coating the remaining chicken. Allow the tenders to rest for about 30 minutes to allow the coating to stick.
7. Make sauce: in a small saucepan, off heat, whisk mango nectar and cornstarch until there are no lumps. Whisk in the remaining dipping sauce ingredients. Place on medium-high heat, whisking frequently. When the sauce begins to bubble, whisk constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Garnish with red pepper flakes just before serving, optional.
8. Preheat 1 1/2 to 2-inch oil to 360 degrees F if frying in a skillet. Working in batches, add chicken. Fry for 5-8 minutes or until cooked through, turning over halfway. Cooking time varies with the size of tenders and fluctuating heat. Place on a cooling rack.
9. If baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place chicken on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
10. Serve with dipping sauce. Makes about 14 tenders.

Notes:

• To help the breading stick, shake off excess flour and egg wash while coating tenders.
• To prevent the coating from falling off during baking or frying, allow tenders to rest about 30 minutes after breading to give it time to stick before cooking.

Keywords:Fried Chicken, Coconut Chicken, Mango Dipping Sauce, Crispy Chicken Tenders

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