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My first EveryPlate box that I’ve gotten in while had some new recipes and some I’ve tried before! The first one I made on a Friday night is the Crispy Thai Chicken Sandwiches.
New here? See why I signed up for Everyplate again and why I’m so exited to cook with you!
This recipe was pretty simple. It just required you to chop up the vegetables to create a slaw as a side, which you can also put on the sandwich as well, and mix up the sauces. All the stuff comes pre-packaged in the little packets for the sauces, which is great. I had to zest and quarter the lime. I also had to shred the carrot using a grater.
To prepare the chicken, I got the chicken breasts out and I did use my metal meat mallet to flatten them out per their instructions to make them a little thinner. I put them in a Ziploc bag to make this as less messy as possible. This made them fit in the sandwich nicely and also made them cook a little faster.
The Fried vs. Air Fryer Debate
This recipe calls for them to be breaded and fried. I have nothing personally against frying food—it can be very delicious—I just find it really messy and I just don’t trust myself with hot oil personally!
Obviously, if you want to make sure it turns out exactly as they intend, I would suggest following the recipe. However, since I’ve done these before and I already know certain ways that I like to cook things, my plan was to bread them and put them either in the oven or the air fryer. The air fryer can sometimes dry out your chicken if you’re not careful, but it’s also faster. The oven can make it nice and juicy, but it takes a little bit longer.
The only problem with the air fryer I will say is it is convenient, it’s quick, and it makes really nice chicken, but it is a little bit of a mess to clean up. Whereas if you put it in a baking dish, that’s pretty easy because then all you have to do is wash the baking dish. So there’s definitely some pros and cons to different ways of cooking this chicken!
My Secret Weapon: The Hellman’s Chicken Method
The way I usually like to make any type of breaded chicken when I get an EveryPlate or HelloFresh box—despite what their instructions are, and again nothing against the professional chefs, I am not a professional chef—is using the Hellman’s chicken method. It’s a recipe from Hellman’s where you basically spread mayonnaise on top of the chicken and add the breading on top. (and Parmesan cheese, which I did not use this time)
I know some people out there don’t like mayonnaise, but I love mayonnaise! I will put mayonnaise on all kind of things, including in mashed potatoes. For this method, you spread the mayo on both sides, then you sprinkle on top some Parmesan cheese if you want, but also then the bread crumbs—which in this case is also mixed with crispy onions—and then you pat that into the mayonnaise and season it however you like. I like to use these silicone basting brushes to spread the mayo.
Because with the Hellman’s mayonnaise chicken recipe you only put the breading on the one side, I didn’t flip it over halfway through like a lot of places suggest. I just threw it in the air fryer at 350°F for about 14 minutes or until the internal temp is 165°F. I also used a meat thermometer to check it. It keeps the chicken nice and juicy and moist, and then again it doesn’t require the frying. It’s not going to be exactly the same texture or way of eating as it would be if you actually fried it in oil like they suggest, so if you’re doing this recipe and you’re really going for that authentic crispy fried chicken, please again follow their instructions!
I actually do the same sort of Hellman’s chicken preparation for other recipes with chicken, like a buffalo chicken that comes with HelloFresh or EveryPlate quite a bit. That one I do the same way because it comes with the Frank’s Red Hot powder seasoning mixed into the breadcrumbs. I actually also have a container of it in my house just because you can buy that in the grocery store. I’ve made enough of these chicken recipes and I really like that as well.
Tweaking the Condiments & Embracing Gadgets
I was really looking forward to this because I like the Thai chili glaze that comes with it. The recipe card shows a spicy mayo on the sandwich which I didn’t see in the directions—you could use mayo and the rest of your Sriracha that you didn’t put in the slaw to actually make your own spicy mayo. I like Hellman’s spicy mayo so I just threw some of that on there which is really good. Shout out to Hellman’s, actually, I eat their spicy mayo all the time!
That’s another thing with the recipes: if they don’t come with enough condiments or enough of anything that you prefer, you can absolutely use stuff that you already keep on hand. Like if you keep hot sauce around—I do like Sriracha, but the one I keep in my fridge is the Cholula hot sauce, that’s my favorite.
These recipes are generally designed for use of a stovetop or oven. They don’t necessarily use specialty appliances just because they want to make sure that the recipes are able to be cooked by people that just have the basic cooking equipment (pots, pans, oven dishes, etc.). For me, I like to use my air fryer just because, hey, I’m a millennial and I love my air fryer!
As you’re going through these recipes, if you have kitchen appliances that you already use and you already really enjoy and you already know how to use them, I would say feel free to include those as well. But obviously, you don’t have to have an air fryer to do these meal boxes. You really don’t need a lot of fancy kitchen gadgets. I personally love a kitchen gadget and I have a lot of them, so I use them frequently! I really love this set of rainbow colored Cuisinart knives I got not long ago. I love color in the kitchen too!
Tips for Meal Kit Success
If you’re new to these meal kits or if you’ve tried other ones, my recommendation is of course make sure you have all the ingredients that you need to add, like salt, pepper, sometimes they ask you to add butter and some cooking oil and some other things. Just make sure as you’re selecting your recipes and ordering your boxes that you have those extra ingredients.
But also, don’t feel like you can’t add things that you enjoy as well—that’s part of the joy of it! Again, officially I’d like to say if you want to make sure and guarantee that your recipe turns out exactly as the meal kit for EveryPlate intends, please follow the directions on the card. Once you get a little bit of experience, or again if you’re like me and you already have a way that you like to prepare things, it’s a great way for you to play around with it, use their ingredients, use their instructions, and tweak it to your preferences. I think for me that’s what makes it really fun. It’s helping me learn how to cook, it gives me some confidence in the kitchen, and also just allows me to make things the way that I think is helpful.
The Final Verdict & Reheating Secret
I hope you enjoy! This dish was really delicious. I love the spiciness, and the slaw is good even though I’m not usually a cabbage person. I don’t even usually like coleslaw, but this coleslaw was pretty tasty! The sandwich is delicious, and I like my air fryer method, but again go ahead and try it as fried as well. So this is one I would say I would do again. Doesn’t it look delicious on my green Fiestaware plates?
Bon appétit!
Also, want to note for tomorrow: I put just the chicken in a glass dish so I can reheat that tomorrow in my Hot Logic for my next dinner or for lunch. I am putting the coleslaw separate and not adding the sweet Thai chili sauce until that piece is reheated tomorrow. I don’t want the bread crumbs to get soggy!
Want to try EveryPlate? You can get a great discount on your first box using my referral link below! It gives you a discount to start cooking, and it earns me a small credit to keep creating these recipe posts. There’s absolutely no obligation, but if you’re interested, it’s a wonderful win-win! Click here! EveryPlate Discount Box
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