Baked Coconut Chicken Tenders

I love coconut, but I know many little kids who do.  The only other person in my household who liked coconut was my daughter, but somehow she has grown out of favor with it over the years.  However, the entire family does like to eat coconut shrimp and coconut chicken.  In my attempt to also share my love of coconut with the daycare children, I came up with my version of coconut chicken for them.  

The one thing that I discovered about kids and chicken is if it looks like nuggets or chicken strips, but appears a little odd, many of the children will be reluctant to even try them.  There will be THE LOOK, the one that clearly says, “Ewww! I’m not going to eat THAT!”  My strategy is to make the chicken look as much as possible like the ubiquitous nuggets and strips in order to entice them to try it.

My secret to achieving this is to alter the look of the coconut.  Shredded coconut usually gives the chicken a bristly look, one that children would not associate with nuggets.  To remedy this, I fine-chop the coconut in the food processor, resolving the bristly appearance.

To provide additional goodness, I added flaxseed for fiber, lignans (antioxidants) and Omega-3s and almonds for healthy fats, vitamin E, potassium and magnesium.  Why not, right?  Just make sure that no one has nut allergies before serving.

These baked tenders actually look as if they were fried.  My secret is to toast the coconut and panko crumbs first to give the tenders an absolutely delicious golden brown finish without frying and without drying out the chicken.  The result, baked coconut chicken that looks good enough for all kids, big and small, to enjoy!

I tested this recipe a couple of times with my group of one, two and three year olds.  Although some of the kids embraced it, others were not impressed.  Even with the mildly favorable results with the youngest of children, I decided to post this recipe because it was a hit with the older kids and adults and actually won over non-coconut lovers.

 

Baked Coconut Chicken Tenders

2 lbs. chicken tenters (about 14 pcs)

1 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

2/3 cup panko crumbs

1/3 cup slivered almonds

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 eggs + 2 tbsp. water

Pinch of salt and pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake coconut and panko separately on greased cookie sheets.  Panko crumbs will take about 4 minutes to become golden brown and the coconut about 5 minutes.  Keep a close eye as they will brown quickly.  Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Place coconut and almonds in food processor and grind until crumbly.

Combine coconut, panko, and almonds on a plate.  On another plate, combine flour, flaxseed meal, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Beat eggs and water, a pinch of salt and pepper to make an egg wash in a third plate.

 toasted coconut

coconut and panko crumb mixture

To assemble chicken, dip each piece first in the flour mixture, then egg mixture, then coconut mixture.  Placed on a greased cookie sheet.  Generously spray the top of the tenderloins with cooking spray.  Bake for about 20 minutes, turning over after 12 minutes.  Smaller pieces of tenderloin might be done around 20 minutes while the larger pieces might require a couple of additional minutes.  To test for doneness, make a small slit in the thickest part of the chicken; it should no longer be pink.

Serve with heated apricot preserve, sweet and sour sauce, or a sauce of your choosing.