Chicken Nuggets with Warm Kimchi-Bacon Ranch Dip

Directions

1. Fried Chicken Nuggets (Regular & Spicy)
2. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, pickle juice, and extra virgin olive oil. Take your cut chicken pieces and place them in a resealable plastic storage bag. Pour the marinade on top, seal the bag, and massage the meat to fully coat the chicken pieces. Store in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 6-hours. FOR SPICY NUGGETS: Drop the Napa cabbage kimchi into the resealable plastic storage bag with the chicken pieces, seal the bag, massage the meat together with the kimchi. Store in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
3. Once the nuggets have marinated, take out a medium-sized bowl and drop in 1/2 cup of rice flour. Season it well with salt & pepper, and whisk it together. Transfer the nuggets to the bowl and coat them lightly. (For spicy nuggets, separate the kimchi from the chicken.)
4. In a food processor, combine the rice flour mix, rolled oats, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, Kosher salt, and pepper. For spicy nuggets, add in the gochugaru and cayenne pepper as well!) Pulse until the mixture is very fine and combined. Transfer the oat-rice flour mixture into a bowl (or rimmed plate), and set aside.
5. In another medium-size bowl, whisk together the eggs with a splash of water to create your egg wash, and set aside.
6. Set up your dredging stations, and dredge in this order: rice flour-coated chicken > egg wash > seasoned oat-rice flour > clean plate. Remove a few pieces of chicken at a time from the flour, dip each into the egg wash, then the oat-rice flour, gently pressing the crumbs into the chicken, and set on a clean plate. Repeat steps with the remaining chicken pieces.
7. In a large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat for approximately 8-minutes. To test and see if the oil is hot enough, you can take a speck of leftover egged-breading and put it in the oil. If it sizzles / bubbles, it should be ready for frying.
8. Carefully add the chicken nuggets to the pan in batches. Don't crowd them! Cook the nuggets on each side for about 3-4 minutes each or flipping as the edges look crisped up, using a spatula or chopsticks to flip them. Once the nuggets are cooked, transfer the chicken nuggets to a paper-towel-lined plate, or you can do as I do sometimes, and drop them to cool on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath.
9. Season with a little salt on top while the nuggets are still hot, let them cool for a few minutes. Serve with Kimchi Bacon Ranch Dip!

1. Kimchi Bacon Ranch Dip
2. Lightly coat a small frying pan with olive oil, and set it over medium heat. Sauté the Napa cabbage kimchi for about 5-minutes, or until the kimchi is softened and the liquid reduced by at least half. Lower the heat, and mix in about a teaspoon of the sour cream to the sautéed kimchi, letting it continue to cook for about another minute. Turn the heat off, transfer the sautéed kimchi to a plate and let it cool for about 10-minutes.
3. In a food processor, combine the kimchi, cooked bacon pieces, sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, onion powder, honey or agave nectar, vinegar (and chopped parsley and /or dill, if you decided to use them!) and season with salt and pepper. Blitz the mixture until it reaches a smooth texture, remembering to stop and taste frequently and adjusting seasonings however if you'd like them to be.
4. Serve with your fresh-made chicken nuggets, or however you'd like it! Enjoy!