Tempura Chicken

This is a good at home "take-out" dinner. 

Unlike the TJ's orange chicken, the tempura chicken is ALL white meat and has a tangy sweet and sour sauce to go with it. Before I bake this dish I like to get out my sharpest knife and cut the big pieces into bite-sized portions. I do this so that its easier to eat AND it allows them to get extra crispy while baking. If your knife isn't sharp enough to cut through the icy poultry, bake the chicken halfway, slice, then return to oven. *Don't burn your fingers on the hot meat. 

Now I have come to realize that almost every frozen item from Trader Joe's needs to be cooked longer than the box says. These little fried nuggets are no different. I like to cook them for a good 6-10 minutes longer because once you pour the sauce on them they will soften a bit anyway.

I served my chicken on a bed of the Rice Medley which is also found in the frozen aisle. This rice is similar to their regular brown rice but it has a little more chewiness like wild rice, and it's pretty too. My only wish is that the orange chicken sauce would join forces with the white meat tempura chicken. That would be ideal because the orange sauce is tastier but I prefer white meat and I think the tempura has a better crunch. Oh yeah, I only use about 3/4 of the sauce on my meat. I don't think it needs the entire pouch. I like to save the rest and use it to pep up my home-made BBQ sauce. That recipe will be up soon.     

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