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Budget recipe: Loaded fries with crispy chicken

Loaded fries prove you don't need a big budget to put something truly tasty on the table. You fry fries until golden and crisp, top them with strips of crispy breaded chicken and finish with sriracha mayo, melted cheese and fresh spring onion. Serve the whole thing on beautiful dinner plates and it instantly looks like something to be proud of. Perfect for a weeknight with friends or a relaxed weekend.

Recipe

Budget recipe: Loaded fries with crispy chicken

Crispy fries piled with juicy crispy chicken, a creamy sauce and fresh toppings. The ultimate comfort food you can serve for little money.

Course Main course
Kitchen American
Servings 2 servings

Preparation time

Preparation time 20 min
Total 35 min

Equipment

  • Deep pan or deep fryer
  • Kitchen thermometer
  • Frying pan
  • 3 deep plates (for breading)
  • Kitchen paper
  • Grater
  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • Mixing bowl
  • Spoon

Ingredients

  • 800 g firm-cooking potatoes
  • 2 chicken breasts (approx. 400 g)
  • 100 g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
  • 1 liter sunflower oil (for frying)
  • 100 ml sunflower oil (for the chicken in the pan)
  • 100 g grated cheddar
  • 3 spring onions
  • 10 g fresh coriander (cilantro)
  • 5 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sriracha
  • 1 tbsp lime juice

How to make loaded fries with crispy chicken?

    1. Cut the potatoes into even fries about 1 cm thick. Even thickness ensures they all cook at the same rate. Rinse them under cold water and pat very dry with kitchen paper. Moisture is the enemy of a crispy fry and also causes splattering in hot oil.
    2. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 160°C. Fry the fries in two or three batches for 5 minutes at this lower temperature. They will cook through inside without browning too much. Drain them on kitchen paper and set aside. This is the first of two frying sessions, so take them out intentionally early.
    3. Cut the chicken breasts into strips about 2 cm wide. Mix the flour with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a deep plate. Beat the eggs in a second plate and put the panko in a third plate. Coat each chicken strip in turn in the flour, then the egg, then the panko. Press the panko firmly so the crust adheres well and doesn't come off during frying.
    4. Heat a 2 cm layer of sunflower oil in a frying pan over medium heat to about 175°C. Fry the chicken strips in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Panko gives an extra-crispy bite that ordinary breadcrumbs can't match. Drain the chicken briefly on kitchen paper and keep warm under foil while you finish the fries.
    5. Now finish the par-fried fries at 180°C in batches for 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden and crispy. This double-fry gives the outside time to become truly crisp while the inside is already cooked. Season them with salt immediately after frying.
    6. Make the sriracha mayo: mix the mayonnaise with the sriracha and a splash of lime juice. Taste and add more sriracha if you want it spicier. Slice the spring onions into thin rings and grate the cheddar ready.
    7. Divide the fries over the dinner plates. Top with the crispy chicken strips. Immediately sprinkle the grated cheddar over the hot fries so the cheese melts a little from the heat. Drizzle the sriracha mayo over and finish with spring onion and fresh coriander.
    8. Serve immediately. Loaded fries wait for no one and are at their best straight from the pan.

Double-frying the fries is not an unnecessary step. The first fry at 160°C cooks the potato inside without burning the outside. The second fry at 180°C gives that hard, golden-brown crust. Use firm-cooking potatoes such as Nicola or Bildtstar, as they hold their structure better than floury varieties. Always dry the raw fries well before you put them in the oil. Water in hot oil splatters and also makes fries soggy. Press the panko firmly onto the chicken so the crust doesn't come off during frying.

You can endlessly adapt the loaded fries to what you have at home. Swap the cheddar for grated Gouda or add a dollop of sour cream alongside the sriracha mayo. No coriander? Parsley works fine as an alternative. For a vegetarian version, fry strips of halloumi the same way in panko. Make the sriracha mayo milder by using more mayo or hotter with a pinch of cayenne. Store leftover fries covered in the fridge and refresh them briefly in a 200°C oven to bring back the crisp. The chicken is best freshly fried.