Food and Cooking

Crispy chicken with sweet potato fries and barbecue beans

This crispy chicken has a hidden layer of spice and a crisp exterior, and is accompanied by baked sweet potato wedges.

Ingredients
For the chicken
4 x 150g/5½oz chicken thighs on the bone
200ml/7fl oz sweet chilli sauce
150g/5½oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
150ml/5fl oz vegetable oil, for frying
For the sweet potato fries
2 tsp garlic powder
1½ tsp paprika
large pinch salt
2 large sweet potatoes (approx. 800g/1lb 12oz), cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
For the barbecue beans
2 x 400g tins baked beans
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp brown sauce

Crispy chicken

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

To make the chicken, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the chicken, cover with a lid and boil for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the water and place on kitchen paper to drain.

Put the chicken in a bowl with the sweet chilli sauce. Mix well and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder and salt on a plate and mix. Dip each piece of chicken into the dry spice mix, coat well and set aside on another plate.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken and fry for 3 minutes on each side, until golden-brown. Place on the lined baking tray and set aside.

To make the sweet potato wedges, combine the garlic powder, paprika and salt in a small bowl. Put the sweet potato wedges on a large baking tray, then cover them with the garlic mix, drizzle with the oil and mix well to coat.

Bake the chicken and sweet potatoes, with the sweet potatoes on the higher shelf, for 25–30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the wedges are tender.

Meanwhile, mix the beans, smoked paprika and brown sauce together in a small saucepan and warm through over a low heat. Serve everything together.

Source: BBC FOODS