A perfectly crispy fried chicken tender, and a fun and flavorful dipping sauce! This chicken is so good you will be licking your fingers and considering a move to the South so you can acceptably eat it for breakfast.
The key to really good fried chicken is the double dip. In real life we don’t love the double dippers. No one wants saliva in the dip or dressing. But with fried chicken you want to double dip…into your eggs and coating that is. First dip in your egg batter, then your flour/coating, then back in the egg batter, then back into the coating.
For these perfectly crispy tenders I first dipped in the egg and buttermilk mix. Then I dipped in flour. Then I dipped back into egg and buttermilk. Then I dipped into Panko! And this combo created this delightful crunch on the exterior, and a tender, juicy interior! Perfection as far as I am concerned.
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Fried Chicken Tenders with Spicy Asian BBQ Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chicken breast cut into tenders
- Oil for frying
- 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 2-3 cups Panko
Egg Batter
- 4 Large eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
Spicy Asian BBQ Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 cup Apricot preserves
- 1/4 cup Soy sauce
- 1 Tbs White wine vinegar
- 1 Tbs Sesame oil
- 1 Tbs Sriracha
- 1 Tbs Garlic minced
- 1/4 Small onion peeled
- 1 Tbs Sweet chili sauce
- 2 Tbs Brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp Ground ginger
Instructions
- Cut chicken into tenders
- Whisk together eggs and buttermilk in a medium sized bowl
- In another bowl mix together flour, salt and pepper, and paprika
- In yet another bowl add Panko bread crumbs
- Dip chicken into egg batter, then into flour mixture. Shake off excess flour
- Dip same piece of chicken back into egg batter.
- Then dip chicken, and roll in Panko
- Set aside, do this until all chicken is coated
- In a large pan heat oil on medium heat, you don't want your oil too hot or it will burn the outside of the chicken without cooking the inside, so set your heat to medium, no higher, if the oil starts to smoke at all, turn it down.
- Once the oil is hot, add chicken to the pan.
- Let chicken cook 5-7 minutes, then flip to other side and cook an additional 5-7 minutes depending on thickness of chicken. Use a meat thermometer or cut into thickest part of chicken to test doneness.
- Remove from oil, and serve hot with dipping sauce, salad, fries, or your choice of sides.
Spicy Asian BBQ Sauce
- Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If you do not want it too spicy, use less Sriracha.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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What to serve with chicken tenders
- Air Fryer Fries
Fries on the side - Broccoli Salad (No Mayo)
A crunchy salad - Mango Lemonade
A tropical drink - Brown Sugar Cookie Bars
An easy dessert
The second key to good fried chicken is getting your frying oil temperature right. If you are not using a fryer (I did not for these), you likely won’t be able to tell the degrees. But it is okay. Just be sure to not over-heat your oil. If it is too hot the inside of the chicken will not cook before the outside is burned. I like cooking on a medium or even medium-low heat, so the oil is hot, and bubbles/reacts when you sprinkle a little water in but is not smoking at all. Your chicken should get nice and browned in the 5-7 minutes, without burning!
The thick, crispy coating keeps all the fluid inside your chicken tender so that it is nice and juicy instead of dried out. It will be amazing. And, if you don’t want a spicy BBQ sauce, skip it, and dip in your favorite BBQ, or eat plain!
 I served this with sweet potato fries and a garden fresh salad. It was great! Hope you love it!
William Ramwell says
The sauce is awesome. Definitely a keeper. It will go great with barbecue chicken, tofu and grilled zucchini too!
angele @shoeboxbegone says
this looks really good – and now I”m hungry! lol thanks for sharing 🙂
Rob says
Definitely something I would want to eat. Thanks for the recipe and pictures :).
Danielle says
That sounds delicious! I love foods with an Asian flair.
Ann Bacciaglia says
I just bought some chicken tonight and was wondering how to prepare it this time when i read your blog. Thanks for the recipe it will be tomorrows dinner 🙂
Vanessa says
Beautiful pictures! This spicy Asian BBQ sauce sounds very good right now!
Rebecca Swenor says
These sound and look delicious. My family loves spicy food and fried chicken so I will have to make these. Thanks for sharing.
adrianstraveltales says
These look AMAZING! I would love to have some right now, some down home cooking is always what I miss while I’m traveling.
Liz Mays says
This looks really tasty. I’ll have to give this a shot.
Debi - Travel Blogger says
Those chicken tenders look delicious. The dipping sauce looks really great, too.
FamiGami (@famigami) says
I’m really wanting to try that Asian BBQ sauce! I think it’s a great side for a chicken dish!
Catherine S says
Reading this made my stomach growl. They look so good and the bbq sauce sounds amazing.
Melissa Smith says
That looks so good & that sauce sounds amazing! Pinning for later! 🙂
lisa galuna (@LisaGaluna) says
Looks & Sounds Delicious I Must Make!
samantha says
Thank you was wondering what i would make during the weekend this is it 🙂 im horrible at cooking but i think i can pull this off, thank you
seasidemermaid says
My son loves chicken tenders. Therefore, he would probably enjoy this recipe.
– HilLesha O’Nan
Britney says
Looks amazing! I will have to pin it and use it this week!
Nolie says
My husband would love these. Thanks for sharing.
Tina Shone Truelove says
And I’m pinning yet another great looking chicken recipe. After today, I’ll have all new meals planned for all 7 days next week. Thank you for sharing!
celebbabylaundry says
I’m a sucker for chicken tenders, these look absolutely delicious!
Michelle F. says
That looks really good. I love dipping sauces and have to try this one.
Samantha Angell says
Oh yum this sounds absolutely amazing- and definitely easy enough. I can even get all of the ingredients to try it out over here in Sweden!