Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

• 700 g / 1.4 lb chicken tenderloin or chicken breast cut into thick strips (Note 1)
• Salt and pepper

SEASONING (OPTIONAL - NOTE 2)

• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder

THICKENER

• 1 tbsp mayonnaise (Note 3)
• 1 tsp cornstarch / cornflour or 2 tsp flour

SAUCE

• 1 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup chicken broth / stock (250ml)
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard (70g)
• 1/4 cup honey (85g)

OPTIONAL EXTRAS (I USED THESE)

• 1 - 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard, adjust to taste
• 2 tsp sprigs thyme or 1/2 dried thyme (Note 4)
• Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, then toss with Seasoning if using.
2. Thickener: In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and flour.
3. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove onto a plate.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil in the middle of the skillet and put garlic straight onto the puddle of oil. Sauté for 20 seconds or until golden (don’t let it burn).
5. Add chicken broth, bring to simmer, scraping the bottom of the fry pan.
6. Whisk in Dijon Mustard and honey, then whisk in Thickener (make sure you scrape it all in).
7. Add thyme and wholegrain mustard, if using.
8. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes or until starting to thicken. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
9. Return chicken and any juices pooled on the plate into the sauce. Turn to coat and reheat through - about 1 1/2 minutes - or until sauce is thickened to your taste.
10. Serve on mashed potato, garnished with parsley, with a simple side salad.

Notes:

1. If you use chicken breast, like I have, cut it vertically into 1cm 2/5" thick strips (so they are like chicken tenderloin pieces). But feel free to cut it as you please (bite size, pounded thin etc). You can also use chicken thighs. If you cut it into bite size pieces, you will need a touch extra flour, garlic powder and oil (because more there is more surface area). There is enough sauce.
2. The seasoning for the chicken is optional - still fab even without, but it adds extra flavour on the chicken and makes it a little bit more golden and crispy. You could also add other flavourings, like paprika, onion powder and even mustard powder. I usually don’t use the seasoning when I make this as a quick meal.
3. I use mayonnaise because it has flavour and adds a bit of richness to the sauce, but it’s not critical. You could easily use chicken broth or water- just need something to dissolve the cornflour in.
4. The thyme is optional, I like adding a herb just for another layer of flavour. It can also be substituted with: rosemary (1 small fresh sprig / pinch of dried), 4 tarragon leaves (fantastic), 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 tsp dried.
5. Posh it up: To glam it up, finely chop a couple of eschallots and saute with the garlic in butter. Then add a splash of white wine to “deglaze” the pan (i.e. scraping the brown bits off the base to mix into the liquid) before proceeding with the recipe. Use French Dijon mustard instead of normal Dijon mustard and use tarragon leaves as the herb - this makes it taste very “restauranty”.