Six Delicious Dipping Sauces for Chicken Tenders

 

Last month when I was with my sister to The Running Man, I picked up a box of Tempura Chicken Tenders.   This is the closest thing we have to a Costco here in the Valley and my sister and I take a trip up to it about once a month or so.  We hardly ever get into the city which is were our nearest Costco is.

In fact, since I moved back here in 2020, we have never been to the Costco in the city at all. We get pretty much everything we might want at either The Running Man or the Cambridge Convenience store in Cambridge. You can order things from Costco and the CCS will drive into the city and pick them up.  They go in once a week. There is a $2 surcharge per item.

Anyways I had picked up this box of Chicken Tenders in a Tempura Batter.  I decided to cook some of them today and thought it would be fun to make an assortment of sauces to enjoy with them. Of course I did not eat all of the sauces. (That would have been way too much.)  I did enjoy a tiny bit of each however in minute quantities.

I made a  Sweet & Sour, a Alabama White BBQ Sauce, a Spicy Honey Chipotle Sauce, Restaurant Ranch, Honey Mustard and Bang Bang Sauce.  Some of them were new to me. 

I have of course had the ranch, and the sweet and sour in the past.  The Honey mustard was something I was also quite familiar with.  The other three were something new and I have to say I enjoyed all of them.

 

WHAT YOU NEED and HOW  TO MAKE SIX DELICIOUS DIPPING SAUCES

Most of the ingredients are things we might already have in our homes. A few might be specialty ingredients.  But you can pretty much make do with what you have.

None of them were very hard to make.  Only one required cooking. The Sweet and Sour Sauce.  All of the sauces could be used for other purposes and with other proteins.

 

HOW TO MAKE THE SWEET & SOUR SAUCE

The only sauce which needs cooking is the Sweet and Sour Sauce. To make this place the pineapple juice, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and chili flakes in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk well together.

Bring just to a simmer. Whisk together the cornstarch (corn flour) and the cold water. Slowly whisk this into the ingredients in the saucepan.

Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the food coloring if using.

All of the other sauces are simply a matter of stirring the ingredients together until smooth.

 

FOR EACH SAUCE:

Bang Bang Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (110g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (61g) sweet chili sauce
• 1 to 2 TBS Sriracha Sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (120ml) pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup (64g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup
• 3 TBS white vinegar
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 1/2 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
• 2 TBS cold water
• few drops red food coloring (optional)

I use Hellman's mayonnaise for all of the sauces requiring mayonnaise and Heinz Ketchup for all of the ketchup requirements. I used Franks Sweet Chili Sauce.  You can find rice wine vinegar in the oriental food section of most shops. Same with the soy sauce.  I did use a few drops of red food coloring in the sweet and sour sauce. 

 

Spicy Honey Chipotle Sauce:

• 1/3 cup (73g) good quality mayonnaise
• 2 TBS your favorite BBQ Sauce
• 1 1/2 TBS runny honey
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp Santa Fe Chipotle Honey Spice (you can buy here)
• 1/2 tsp Maple Pepper (you can buy here) (optional but nice)

Alabama White BBQ Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (110g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1/8 cup (30ml white wine vinegar
• 1/2 TBS spicy brown mustard (I used a grainy Dijon)
• 1/2 TBS creamy horseradish sauce
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
• 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika

I used French Maille Dijon Mustard and I used Greek Honey. I did not have Spicy Brown Mustard as they don't have that here where I live, but the Grainy Dijon worked well.   I didn't have any BBQ sauce so I kind of fudged together my own using ketchup, etc.  

The Santa Fe Chipotle Honey Spice is really nice.  It has a smoky spicy flavor.  I used regular creamed horseradish sauce. I love that stuff and could eat it with a spoon.  I threw a bit of the Maple Pepper spice that I had gotten at the farmers market the other week just to use it and it worked very well. 

Honey Mustard Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (110g) of good quality mayonnaise
• 2 TBS prepared American Mustard
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1 TBS liquid honey

Restaurant Ranch Sauce:

• 1/4 cup (55g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (30g) dairy sour cream
• 1/2 tsp dried dillweed
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried chives
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/8 tsp onion powder (not salt)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60ml to 80ml) buttermilk (or regular milk)

I used French's American Mustard. It is this mustard which gives a lovely color to the sauce.  Again, Greek honey and French Dijon.

This was an excellent Ranch dressing.  You could use fresh herbs if you had them, but dried work very well.  I liked that you didn't have to use buttermilk if you didn't have access to it, but if you do, do use it as it adds a nice tang!

I adapted all of the recipes that I shared here today from Platings and Pairings.   She had over 20 sauces that she was sharing. I picked six that I thought we might all like.  I did downsize all of the recipes by cutting them in half.

If I had to pick a favorite out of these sauces I would really be hard pressed to do so. Each has their own lovely qualities and is delicious in their own right.  I think my overall favorite was the Spicy Honey Chipotle Sauce. It had a layer of almost Tex Mex flavor to it and I am really fond of Mexican flavors.

The Ranch Sauce is pretty amazing as well. So is the Bang Bang sauce.  Actually they are pretty darned delicious, but don't take my word for that!  Try them out for yourself!

The ingredients for any single sauce can very easily be doubled to make more. They all store very well in the refrigerator, covered for four to five days. I do not recommend freezing any of them.

If you are fond of dipping things into sauces, or drizzling sauces over things, here are a few more recipes that you might also enjoy!

SWEET AND SOUR PEANUT SAUCE - This was a wonderful mix of flavors and textures . . .  sweet, tangy, creamy, spicy, rich and sour.  In short perfection. If you like peanut sauce, you will love this sweet and sour version!

CHIP SHOP CURRY SAUCE - A very British sauce that you will see sold in chip shops all over the U.K.  People love this on their chips, but it is actually delicious spooned over anything. Chicken cutlets, Fish, pork.  Sausages. Its just a really tasty sauce. The curry in this is of a medium strength so not too hot, You can always vary that if you wish!

RECIPE HERE 

Yield: about 1/2 cup each

Author: Marie Rayner

Six Delicious Dipping Sauces for Chicken Tenders

A variety of delicious sauces designed for dipping. All are simple and easy to make and require little, if no, cooking. There is something here for every taste!

Ingredients

Alabama White BBQ Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (110g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1/8 cup (30ml white wine vinegar
• 1/2 TBS spicy brown mustard (I used a grainy Dijon)
• 1/2 TBS creamy horseradish sauce
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
• 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika

Restaurant Ranch Sauce:

• 1/4 cup (55g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (30g) dairy sour cream
• 1/2 tsp dried dillweed
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried chives
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/8 tsp onion powder (not salt)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60ml to 80ml) buttermilk (or regular milk)

Honey Mustard Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (110g) of good quality mayonnaise
• 2 TBS prepared American Mustard
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1 TBS liquid honey

Bang Bang Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (110g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (61g) sweet chili sauce
• 1 to 2 TBS Sriracha Sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Spicy Honey Chipotle Sauce:

• 1/3 cup (73g) good quality mayonnaise
• 2 TBS your favorite BBQ Sauce
• 1 1/2 TBS runny honey
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp Santa Fe Chipotle Honey Spice (you can buy here)
• 1/2 tsp Maple Pepper (you can buy here) (optional but nice)

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (120ml) pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup (64g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup
• 3 TBS white vinegar
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 1/2 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
• 2 TBS cold water
• few drops red food coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. The only sauce which needs cooking is the Sweet and Sour Sauce. To make this place the pineapple juice, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and chili flakes in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk well together.
2. Bring just to a simmer. Whisk together the cornstarch (corn flour) and the cold water. Slowly whisk this into the ingredients in the saucepan.
3. Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the food coloring if using.
4. For all of the other sauces, simply whisk all of the ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
5. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container until ready to use. It is good to let the sauces chill for at least half an hour or so for the flavors to fully develop.

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