Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders are ideal for an amazingly quick meal of grilled chicken with vegetables.

This meal is a keto meal that I developed for some loved ones to enjoy. However, since we are a bread loving family, we had it with some bread.

It is equally delicious both ways! The choice of vegetables entirely depends on you. You can choose whatever is available at the moment. Other good choices are mushrooms, sweetcorn, zucchini, etc. A little unorthodox addition is the aubergine… select the large ones. Cut those into thick circles and grill them till golden.

Chicken tenders are basically strips cut from chicken breast. They are very healthy form of lean protein. The cut of the chicken also ensures that it cooks very fast, made faster by the marination.

This marinade recipe is one of my favourites, vying with the one I used for my grilled fish. Both of them are good choices for busy people as it comes together so quickly after marination.

Marinating the chicken tenders

Since this superb dish comes together in minutes if you have your chicken marinated and ready, you can make this for parties, get-togethers and even for barbecues in picnics.

The vegetables you add are pretty much optional… you can add anything that is available to you at the moment. 

In case you do not find chicken tenders, don’t lose heart! Just get boneless chicken breast and use a sharp knife to slice each one into 4 pieces. Use the pictures and the video in this post to guide about the size. That will do the trick!

Grilling in one pan

The best thing about the recipe is that all the cooking can be done in one grill pan. Use the one with the grilling racks if possible. You can also cook it with the grill function. In that case, cook the vegetables in an open pan lightly and add it to the chicken after it is done.

Video for the recipe

Chicken Tenders

Recipe by Sheetal Rabindran

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 500 g Chicken tenderloin ( Or chicken breast strips) 
  

• Marinade:
  1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp oyster sauce 2 tsp soya sauce, 1 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper powder.

• 3-4 onions, sliced

• 4-5 pods of garlic, sliced

• Vegetables cut into long strips: 1 carrot, 6 baby corn, colourful bell peppers. 20 beans topped and tailed.

• Dry garlic or any other herb of your choice

• Salt, pepper to taste

• 2 tbsp butter

Directions

• Mix ingredients for the marinade together and coat the chicken with it.
• Cover and let it marinate overnight.
• Heat the grill pan/ thick-bottomed tawa.
• Add the butter to the pan. Fry both sides of the chicken in it. Baste with butter in between. You can also add more garlic if you wish.
  Keep aside, covered.
• In same pan, add garlic and onions. Fry. Remove.
• Now add carrots, let it cook. It will get done in a few minutes.
• Since beans take a longer time to cook, add some sliced onions to the pan to give some moisture while cooking. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Then add baby corn, bell peppers and toss well. Add butter, season with salt, pepper and herbs.
  
• Toss in the onions and garlic. Add the carrots.
• Finally add the chicken pieces. Dab it with butter and serve hot. It’s a complete meal by itself…. and yummy too! Season with salt, pepper and your favourite herbs.
  
• You can add bread if you wish. 

Notes

• Marination is a must to let the chicken tenders retain the juicy texture on grilling.
• Chicken tenders are often sold as chicken tenderloins.
• You can slice boneless chicken breast if you are not able to get the chicken tenders where you live.