Coconut Chicken

We stole this recipe from our friend, Christi Fisher. Fernando made it for me. He ate it at Christi's and remembered how incredibly delicious it was and decided to make it for me after losing a bet :) It did not disappoint.

Ingredients
8 chicken cutlets, slightly pounded
Salt and pepper
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1 to 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, eyeball it
1/2 cup pineapple preserves
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and sliced into rings
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or tamari
1 to 2 tablespoons chicken stock
2 scallions, whites and greens sliced

Preparation
Preheat oven to 250˚F. Place a cooling rack over a baking sheet and place in oven.

Arrange 3 shallow dishes: Place about a cup of flour on first plate to dredge the chicken. Beat eggs with a splash of water in second dish. Combine the panko and coconut in the third dish.

Heat a thin layer of EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then coat them in flour, then egg, then breadcrumb-coconut mixture. Fry in 2 batches until deep golden in color, 3-4 minutes on each side. Keep chicken crisp in warm oven and repeat with remaining chicken.

In a small skillet over medium-high heat, stir together pineapple preserves, jalapeño slices, rice wine vinegar or tamari, and chicken stock. Reduce until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in scallions.

To serve, arrange chicken on a platter and pour sauce over the top.

Yields: Serves 4