Chicken Nuggets Made Better

How does one elevate the humble and rather boring chicken nugget? It’s a question I found myself asking the other day, after I had failed to thaw any meat for supper and had no vegetarian options on hand. I needed something I could cook quickly–hence the box of frozen, breaded chicken pieces–but wanted to dress it up so it had actual flavour and some degree of, dare I say, elegance.

Okay, elegance is a bit much, but I wanted to move beyond bare chicken nuggets on a plate accompanied by ketchup and some variety of frozen potato.

My solution? Sauce. Preferably something intensely flavoured and brightly coloured. I looked into my fridge and saw a large bunch of cilantro, left languishing after I had used only a tiny amount in homemade salsa. “Yes,” I said to myself, “Two birds, one stone: a sauce for dinner and a new way to use up leftover cilantro, which I always have too much of.”

I quickly searched for recipes and, as is my wont, combined two that didn’t quite work for me on their own, but together created exactly what I was looking for.

To switch things up even more, I changed the accompanying carb from potatoes to basmati rice. Brown rice is healthier, yes, but I wanted the bright white basmati as a visual contrast to the green sauce.

The final dish was delicious. I marketed it to my husband as “lightly breaded chicken and zesty cilantro sauce on a bed of rice.” He wasn’t fooled, but he agreed that it was really good.

Very refined, no?

Whether or not you pair it with chicken nuggets, I highly recommend this sauce. It would be great with any white meat, fish, or seafood, or in a wrap or sandwich. I even paired it with leftover rice and some chopped pistachios for a tasty lunch the next day.

Cilantro sauce is easy and a great starting point for transforming frozen chicken into something more interesting. Enjoy!

Chicken nugget sketch: 133868661 © Topgeek | Dreamstime.com