Crispy Asian Chicken and Creamy Corn Bake

Bold aromatic ingredients, such as soy sauce, ginger, green onions and garlic, are the key to infusing this light meal with serious, savory flavor – not to mention a seriously crispy exterior on our faux "fried" chicken, despite having only 339 calories!

     Photo: Gregory James, Jessica Colley

By Jennifer Iserloh

Serves: 4
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into thirds
• 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp arrowroot
• 2 cloves garlic, cut in half
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), sliced into 4 even cutlets
• 2 cups unsweetened all-natural crispy brown rice cereal
• Olive oil cooking spray

CORN BAKE:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 1/2 cups thawed-from-frozen corn
• 1 1/2 packed cups baby spinach leaves
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 2 egg whites, ginger, soy sauce, arrowroot and halved garlic in a mini chopper or blender. Blend to break up ginger and garlic, until fairly smooth. Transfer egg mixture to a shallow dish and add chicken, turning a few times to coat; set aside. Place cereal on a sheet of wax paper.
2. Prepare corn bake: Add oil, chopped garlic and five-spice powder to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, until garlic becomes golden and fragrant. Add flour and cook for 2 more minutes, mashing mixture with the back of a spoon until a thick paste forms. Reduce heat to low and whisk in milk, bringing mixture to a slow simmer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until sauce thickens. Stir in corn, spinach and scallions and cook for about 1 minute more, until spinach wilts. Stir in 1 egg white and baking soda. Transfer mixture to an 8 x 8-inch baking dish and place in preheated oven.
3. Remove chicken from egg mixture. Press both sides of each chicken cutlet into cereal and transfer to a large baking sheet misted with cooking spray. Coat tops of chicken with a thin layer of cooking spray and transfer to oven, alongside corn mixture. Bake both for about 25 minutes, until corn has puffed and chicken has cooked through and is no longer pink in the center. Remove corn mixture and chicken from oven, letting chicken rest for 4 minutes before slicing and serving with corn bake.

Nutrients per serving (4 oz chicken and 3/4 cup corn bake): Calories: 339, Total Fat: 6 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Carbs: 35 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 35 g , Sodium: 300 mg, Cholesterol: 67 mg

READER RECIPE TESTER
Ashley Costello
Chesapeake, Virginia
“I easily found all the ingredients needed for this recipe and even got my hands on fresh corn (yum!). The finished product appealed to every member of the family (that’s ages one, five and eight, plus adults). I did add sea salt and black pepper throughout to suit my tastes, but I really liked the combination of corn, spinach and spices in the Creamy Corn Bake.”