15-Minute Fried Herbed Chicken Recipe (2024)

I made this dish last night and the flavor was outstanding. I had a difficult time with the direction to "rub the paste" on the chicken, but I followed to the letter. I then watched the video this morning and noted that Bittman dredged the chicken in the paste and didn't "rub". That would have been alot easier and less messy! I will make sure I dredge next time as I will definitely be making it again!

No need to obsess. Just follow the recipe. The flour will bond to the paste on the flesh, and won't "fall off". Maybe the word "rub" is throwing people off. You could also "drag" the chicken thru the paste (all you need is a light coating all over each thigh, enough to give something for the flour to stick to) or you could say "brush" the paste onto the chicken. Any of these will get the job done.

I don't mind Mark Bittman being funny -- funny is good -- but I do mind the camera panning on his face instead of what his hands and the food in the pan are doing. How did he dredge the chicken in mush a second time without the first coating falling off? I'll never know; can't learn from a video unless I can see the cooking.

4 minutes per side wasn't nearly enough. Perhaps 7-8 minutes, for 15 minutes total cooking time (per the recipe name?) makes more sense. Guidance regarding the average weight per thigh, or for all 6 total, would be appreciated. I won't be making this again.

Why hasn't the text of the recipe been corrected to the directions in the video, the garlic not even mentioned in the recipe. So nice that someone caught that after watching the very painful video.

I should have watched the video first. It mentions starting with garlic and adding salt (of course), but the recipe doesn't. Salting it at the table was fine. Next time I'll add garlic.

Excellent weeknight dish! I used panko instead of flour and the chicken came out extra crunchy. In the spirit of Mark Bittman and since I did not have any onions, I added 2 shallots in its place. It was delicious!

Don't let the peanut butter scare you away -- my husband and I LOVE this dish. We're always looking for a quick way to cook chicken breasts, and this recipe is great. I pounded the chicken flat for more even cooking. We used fresh thyme and fresh sage leaves, which was delish. The lemon wedges are a must.

Why is the peanut butter or tahini necessary? Does it add a lot of flavor or is it there to help the paste thicken?

Prepared this two days ago with 8 boneless chicken thighs, and simply let the chicken sit in the puree like a marinade until ready to cook. I used tahini, fresh rosemary and dried sage, added some kosher salt. It was thoroughly coated enough after one dredging in flour, but I did do it twice, and nothing fell off during the frying process. Leftovers were excellent, too, just reheated in countertop oven. Will add to the rotation of our many easy chicken dishes.

I think Mark forgot to mention that we have to make thin slices of chicken to guarantee it is well cooked, and the add of flour was a disaster. It could be much more tasty without flour, that burn very fast turning the kitchen to a very foggy place with the chicken still raw.

Can't know what went wrong for other people and didn't watch the video but, the recipe, as written, worked out fine for me. Paste was "too thin" but worked just fine, anyway. Added a little more than 2 Tbs of herbs (parsley, shiso, basil, chives). Fried 4 thin, bnls/sknls thighs in a cast iron skillet. Took 3-5 minutes per side. Batter was crispy and thick. No crazy, huge, unique whoop in taste but, this was certainly good enough to make again.

I tried this recipe with firm fillets of fish (cod, hake) and it worked perfectly! Can't wait to try it with chicken.

Use chickpea or fava flour instead of wheat flour.

You could try a couple of things. The pan may not have been hot enough. The oil has to be sizzling hot, enough so to begin to "set" the crust on contact, and if you get that part right, and don't move the thighs around while they are cooking until you turn them, you should be OK next time. It will take several minutes of heating for the oil to get hot enough. You might benefit from the purchase of a laser thermometer to help you gauge when the pan/oil is hot enough. Or try Teflon.

I made this today 3/3/22 - This is insanely not quick: just consider clean-up of the food processor alone. Way too long PIA. And my hands-on rubbing the mixture into the chicken.....Please? how long to wipe and rub and wipe again? Where are my hands and utensils at this point??? Dirty, re-clean, dirty etc etc. You get it: mess. PLUS cooking time for sure depends on how PLUMP the thighs are. Mine took 15 + mins to cook through. This recipe is absolutely ridiculous. FYI I am a decent cook!

Meh. I don't want to say that I hated it, but... I kind of hated it. Should have used panko. Definitely needed much longer for thighs to cook than 4 min per side - I finished it off in the oven after frying. Totally edible, but not in any sort of interesting or tasty way, bland, even though I used far more than the amount of herbs called for. I knew it was bad when after trying hot sauce, my kid went and found bbq sauce in the fridge - not sure that I've ever seen her do that...

I love Mark Bittman, but not this recipe. Made as directed,did not watch video. I thought it was very bland and did not think the messy paste added anything.

I used almond butter and it was delicious! Pleasantly surprised.

Combination of Sage and Tarragon definitely did not work. Tasted like toothpaste.

Very yummy! Just make sure you get that last coat of flour or all the paste will fall right off and burn... and don't forget to add salt to taste at the end (like I did)... also it took a lot longer than 4 min on each side for the chicken to cook thru, but that could easily just be because I did something else wrong haha

I’ve made this before with boneless thighs, marinated in the “paste” for several hours, then flour-dipped and fried. Did add salt to the marinade. Today am using boneless breasts pounded, fresh rosemary, sage and thyme, again marinating, coated in Panko and refrigerated again. This helps the coating stick. Will fry in the manner of schnitzel tonight, but might finish in oven to prevent burning crust, since it’s thicker than schnitzel.

I made this last night using tahini and fines herbes. It was very good and I decided I would definitely make it again. Then I dreamed that I got up looking for leftovers because I wanted more of the chicken. Lol. I decided I had to try it again today using peanut butter...that’s a legit excuse, no? (I preferred the tahini). Now if I have another dream tonight, maybe I’ll try hummus and make falafelish chicken?

Ingenious recipe. This is really good with thighs. Everyone likes. Recipe needs salt, I add 1 teaspoon. I coat and dredge once. There isn't enough paste to dredge and coat 2xs. I fry until brown on both sides and finish in a 425 degree oven. If I try to finish in the fry pan, the coating gets burned.

used 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp tarragon 1 tsp black pepper in first dip with tahini and hlf onionused 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp kosher salt half onion and peanut butter for 2nd pasteboth dips with garlic 2-3 clovecarefully toss in flour beween each dipfried in canola oil

I had all kinds of fresh herbs--sage, tarragon, chives, basil, thyme, rosemary--so used all of them. I am gluten free, so used chickpea flour. Added gluten free panko, parmesan, homemade breadcrumbs and dry mustard to the coating. Cooked the chicken in peanut oil. Agree that oil temp must be very hot. Turned out great. Doubled the herb mix and served a little on the side and froze it for next time. Husband said, "nice," which along with "tasty" is his highest praise.

I followed the recipe to the T. Tahini mixture and flour immediately fell off the chicken. Should the directions include oil temp? Would that have made a difference?

This was so hard to make. The double coating of the batter, frying it coupled with burning it. I felt like I was fighting a war with chicken and losing. Not making again.

I've made Mark Bittman's 15-minute herb fried chicken twice, thinking I did something wrong in the first go-round. I didn't.First and foremost, dispense with the notion that it can be made in a quarter hour. If you do, you'll end up with semi-raw poultry.Once out of the frying pan, you'll need to bake it an additional 20 minutes or so at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit. This will also help to better bond the crust to the meat.The chicken also needs a light marinade prior to coating it.

Used boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut lengthwise into 2 3/4" thick fillets. Used peanut butter and chopped fresh tarragon and chives in the paste. Cooked the chicken breast 5 minutes per side. The chicken was spicy, moist and delicious. Served it on mashed potatoes with a side salad dressed with mustard vinaigrette.