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Fried
chicken was always a special treat in our family when
I was growing up. I loved the taste and texture of the
crispy chicken, and thoroughly enjoyed the coleslaw
and fries (or potato and gravy) served on the side.
I
also remember thinking to myself that, even though it
was fast food, it can't be all that bad because
I knew that chicken was healthy.
I'm
under no such illusion these days. I realize that chicken
meat may be healthy, but deep-fried chicken is anything
but. Yes, the underlying chicken meat is low in saturated
fat and rich in high-quality protein. But it's what's
on the outside that spoils things.
For
a start, fried chicken is typically cooked with the
skin on. Chickens store lots of their fat in their skin,
and a lot of this fat is saturated fat, which can raise
"bad" LDL cholesterol levels in the blood.
To make matters worse, the chicken is then breaded and
deep-fried in fat. Fast food outlets like KFC use partially-hydrogenated
vegetable oil to fry their chicken. Unfortunately partially-hydrogenated
vegetable oil contains lots of trans fat, which studies
show is even more harmful to your heart and arteries
than saturated fat.
All
this fat isn't only bad for your health, it also contains
lots of calories, which isn't good for your waistline
either. Most of us then compound the damage by eating
foods like commercial coleslaw and French fries with
the chicken. These foods are also high in calories,
and French fries typically contain high amounts of trans
fat.
So,
in no way or form is fried chicken healthy for you (as
KFC tried to promote recently in U.S. television advertisements—before
receiving a severe rebuke for false advertising from
the Federal Trade Commission) and should be eaten sparingly
or on special occasions.
Healthy
fried chicken
However,
there is a way to enjoy the taste of fried chicken more
regularly. Our recipe for fried chicken is oven-fried
instead of deep-fried. And in our version we remove
the skin and liberally brush the chicken with healthy
peanut oil which is rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated
fat.
Let's
have a look at the nutritional difference between our
fried chicken and typical fried chicken from a fast
food outlet:
Quite clearly our chicken is far healthier. Not only
is it lower in calories but it contains much less saturated
fat and no trans fat compared to the fast food version.
The
great thing about this chicken is that it's not only
healthy, it also tastes delicious. And if you want to
turn this into a true feast, why not have this fried
chicken with some healthy antioxidant-rich coleslaw
and healthy French
fries.
Now
let's look at the simple steps involved in preparing
and cooking healthy fried chicken. (This recipe serves
2.)
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Preheat
the oven to 200°C/400°F then combine 1/3
cup of fine bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon
paprika and ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
in a large bowl.
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Pat
dry 4 skinless chicken pieces (two breast pieces
and 2 drumsticks) with a paper towel, then brush
with 3 tablespoons of peanut oil.
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Roll
chicken pieces in mixture
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Roll each chicken piece in the bread crumb mixture,
pressing to coat well.
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Place
the chicken pieces on a non-stick baking tray
(or lightly grease a regular baking tray with
oil). BAKE for 1 hour without turning.
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Serve
with accompaniments
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Serve
with your choice of accompaniments.
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