Let Fridays be Fridays and Bygones be Bygones
In my world there is a correlation between the meal and the day of the week and it goes like this:
If this graph doesn’t make it obvious enough, Friday’s score pretty high in my book. It’s a day to celebrate, live a little, live a lot! You’ve probably heard of the happy meal theory, you know when you’re a kid and a trip to McDonalds is associated with fun times and free toys. Then even when you’ve matured out of happy meals and safely into quarter pounders (they’re better than big macs, don’t @ me) you still have this sentimental attachment to McDonalds because of the warm fuzzy memories you enjoyed as a child. Well, Fridays is like that for me.
When I was a wee little girl *Scottish accent* Friday evening was always known as ‘Chocolate Night’ in an attempt to stop my brother and I eating chocolate every day. This was a tradition passed down from my grandparents, to my dad, to my brother and I. On reflection, chocolate night was so much more than ‘chocolate’, it was the liberation from school, the dance anthems on the radio that blasted through the house, the dinner, the being together. Not to sound too much like the black-eyed peas, but Friday really is all about the ‘feeling’. It’s a feeling I’ve held a tight grip on going into adulthood. When I was single and living with a' friend with pennies to my name, we really invested in a Friday night, even if all it meant was lighting a candle from Aldi and pouring a g&t. So when I say happy Friday, it comes from the heart!
Here’s my favourite Friday recipe to mark this fantastic occasion. Just writing about this burger makes my mouth water! It doesn’t take long to make after a busy week and accompanies a beer or g&t perfectly! I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!
C R I S P Y S R I R A C H A C H I C K E N B U R G E R
Makes 2 Burgers
Asian Slaw:
1 Carrot
½ Onion
½ of a cucumber
1 tbsp Plain Greek Full Fat Yogurt
1tbsp Mayo
½ tsp Chilli Powder
1 squeeze of lemon
Sriracha Sauce:
2 tsp of honey
2 ½ tbsp of Sriracha
2 tbsp of Sesame Oil
1 tbsp of Soy Sauce
1 Clove of Garlic crushed
Chicken:
1 x chicken breasts
40g panko breadcrumbs
1 x egg
Oil for frying
Brioche Bun
A bunch of coriander
M E T H O D
1.) Start by assembling the slaw. Using a peeler, peel the carrot and cucumber into ribbons. Slice the onion thinly add to the bowl. Add the yogurt, mayo, lemon and chili powder and give it a good mix. Season as you see fit then leave to one side.
2.) Mix all of the sauce ingredients into a separate bowl. This is your sriracha sauce.
3.) Now you want to half the chicken breast by placing your hand on top of the chicken breast, slicing horizontally, dividing it half. Leaving you with 2 thinner chicken fillet pieces. Season generously.
4.) Whisk the egg in one bowl, then in a different bowl add the panko bread crumbs.
5.) Dredge the chicken breast into the beaten eggs, lift it out, waggle it (yes a real verb) to let the excess drip off. Add the chicken to the panko breadcrumbs, turning the chicken breast and pressing in the crumbs till the chicken looks like it wearing a little coat (cute). Repeat this process on the remaining fillet.
6.) Place some oil into a pan and when the oil is hot, place the chicken in the pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until beautifully golden and crunchy. (Writing this is making me so hungry!)
7.) Toast the buns, then spread with a little mayo. Now, this is where it gets exciting. Take the chicken and place it in your siracha sauce. Finish by assembling the burger with the slaw, chicken, coriander and bun on top. Get your jammies on, and enjoy. You made it through the week and for that I am proud of you! Have a superb weekend friends!
Grab your napkins folks!