Pistachio Crusted Chicken with Clementine Ginger Glaze

I just got a new toy! nothing big it is a food chopper, in the past if I had to chop something I would either chop chop chop away with a french knife or, if I am feeling all Iron Cheffy, two knives. When I do that it is a good time to stand back, a couple of times I have chopped a little more than I wanted to. I picked up my new toy Monday on my way home from work and wanted to use it immediately so once I got home I tried to talk everyone into something chopped for dinner. "Chicken? How would you like that chopped?"

I decided to make pistachio crusted Chicken with Clementine Ginger Sauce. I had pistachios (I love pistachios!) so the crust was an easy idea. I have seen pistachios served with Asian inspired sauces before so that was my inspiration with what was really a refrigerator cleaning journey. Clementines were $1.98 for 3 pounds at my store so I had good base, I will start with that:

Juice from 8 Clementines (I used a lime juicer)
2 cloves of fresh Garlic coarsely chopped
1 tsp fresh Ginger peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 TBL Triple Sec
1 tsp Chili Sesame Oil
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
Salt, Pepper
1 1/2 TBS Brown Sugar

I put everything except the Brown Sugar into a small sauce pan and let it simmer on low heat while I prepared the chicken (about half an hour) I wasn't in a hurry the ingredients:

3 Chicken Breasts
Crust
1/2 Cup toasted Bread Crumbs (Panko Bread Crumbs if you have them)
1/2 Cup Chopped Pistachios
To chop the Pistachios put them in your new chopper and pulse until they are the consistency you want, mostly pretty fine with some chunks left for texture.
Mix them half and half with bread crumbs
Egg Wash
1 Egg
1/4 cup milk (I used Cream this time... Again cleaning fridge)

Flour mix
Flour
Salt Pepper
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder

Really I don't measure the flour part it is just to make glue. Turn your oven on to 350, set up your Flour, Egg Wash and Crust then put enough vegetable oil into a pan to cover the bottom and start heating that up. Take the Chicken Breasts and put them into a freezer bag (freezer bags are pretty sturdy) then get the best kitchen tool ever the kitchen mallet and beat the snot out of them. I use the flat side of the mallet because I am not interested in tearing the bag to shreds and splattering Chicken juice all over the kitchen. Take the now thin Chicken Cutlets out of the bag and coat them in Flour, then Egg Wash, then the Pistachio Bread mixture and throw them in the hot oil.

Quick Break here to say... I have been told no fewer than 500 times that it is so easy to do this part, "all you have to do is keep one hand for the wet ingredients and one for the dry." However for me I end up with two hands coated in goo and when giant chunks fall off into the hot oil I get splashed. I just set this mess up on the edge of the sink so I can rinse my hands often.

Back to work now, cook the chicken cutlet for a minute or so on each side to get that nice crust then put them on a cookie sheet and into the oven to finish. While they are in the oven take your sauce and strain then put back into the saucepan, add the Brown Sugar and cook for another 10 minutes until the chicken is done. Put the Chicken down and drizzle with the sauce.

Seriously this sauce is wicked good, look at it!