Preparing the Chicken and Slaw
These are my extra crispy buttermilk chicken tenders with crunchy slaw, homemade hot sauce, and ranch. For 700 grams of chicken, mix 1 cup of buttermilk with 1 teaspoon each of salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cracked black pepper. Cut the chicken widthways into chunky strips, coat well and rest for at least two hours.
For the slaw, a quarter of a white cabbage and one red onion. Slice both nicely and thin. Add one grated or julienned carrot and one tablespoon of chopped coriander. Flat-leaf parsley works well here too, if you prefer.
For the dressing, mix one tablespoon each of mayonnaise and sour cream, half a tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of garlic powder, cracked black pepper, and the juice of half a lime. Mix together.
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Homemade Hot Sauce and Ranch
For the hot sauce, start with half a diced red pepper and one or two diced habaneros. Add 2 or 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and 1 tablespoon of white sugar. Stir in 1 heaped teaspoon of tomato puree, then pour in 120ml of white vinegar and 80ml of water. Cook gently for 15 minutes, blend, then cook for another 5 to 10 minutes and pass through a sieve. Finish with one tablespoon each of butter and honey, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a dash more vinegar to loosen.
For the ranch, mix 100g each of mayonnaise and sour cream with 50g of buttermilk, 1 tbsp each of chives, parsley and dill, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, half a teaspoon of cracked black pepper, and the juice of half a lemon. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the garlic flavors permeate.
Dredging and Frying
For the dredge, use 200 grams of plain flour, 80 grams of corn flour, 40 grams of rice flour, two teaspoons each of baking powder, salt, garlic powder, and paprika, and half a teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Dredge the chicken. For a thicker coating, let the first layer sit until sticky. Dip it back into the marinade, then dredge again.
Deep-fry in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan, until cooked through and crisp. Serve with the slaw, ranch, and hot sauce. You get that really crispy coating around the juicy chicken, plenty of heat from the hot sauce, and the cool ranch to balance everything out. I added homemade pickles for another hit of acidity, then finished with sliced spring onions and coriander.