Buffalo Chicken Bowls

Oh hi, delicious bowls of buffalo bliss. Come sit by me.

These are like buffalo chicken wraps (my fave ever), but in a bowl! Like a Chipotle burrito bowl (also fave ever), but buffalo! Like if Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks had a yummy hybrid love baby! Don’t tell them I said that.

A few weekends ago we walked to a new restaurant in our neighborhood, and within .34342 seconds I spotted “Buffalo Bowls” on their menu. So of course I was all over that. *see McCartney Nicks hybrid love baby.

It was a reaaaaaally good bowl. I knew I had to recreate it at home for ya. But with a few painless tweaks! Natch.

First of all, we’re frying. #praises

I hardly EVER fry. Only if the laws of astrophysics guide my soul fairies to go to such tasty lengths, shall I fry. But I knew in this case, frying had to be done. I wanted that extra TEXTURE, ya know? But by all means, you can totally bake the chicken! But don’t.

Second of all, ignore my veiny hand. Aren’t we so glad I’m not a hand model? I would be soooo fired.

Battered chicken cubies. Also known as the gateway to true love.

I didn’t photograph the actual frying, because that completely stresses me out. But I did Snapchat it! *see McCartney Nicks hybrid love baby.

You’ll toss those lil’ lovelies with a mix of buffalo sauce and BUTTAH. And you’ll taste one glorious bite and not be able to control yourself, only to end up sobbing on the kitchen floor with buffalo sauce all over your head and zero chicken bites left.

Real life.

Oh yes, child. After some heavy topping loadage, you’re ready to go. Sliced carrots, minced celery, onion shavings, all the blue cheese, and cilantro. And extra hot sauce for the daredevils! (me and paul and stevie)

These bowls are gooooooooood. Not really ideal for a big party, since they’re all dinnery. But great for Sunday night football at home, when you still want game day flavors, but not a whole crowd of people destroying your house and life. So basically, you’re welcome.

Oh! I’d like to interrupt this program to tell you something super fun and exciting. If you’ve not yet heard of At {Mine}, get your booty over to their site right now and just look at all that home design glory. It’s a beautiful platform that allows users (anyone can join for free!) to upload and share photos of their home. You have your own profile, collection of photos, followers, all that. It’s fabulous. The extra coolness of the whole thing is that you can tag where you got certain items in your home. Because you know how when you post a photo of something and everyone’s like, “WHERE DID YOU GET ALL THE THINGS.” This allows you to tag tag tag, and provide provide provide. I dig it!

Well, during the whole month of October, they’re featuring kitchens around the world. And today, they’re featuring mine! I’m crazy flattered to be a part of this. So, go peep my kitchen! Only if you want. I’m not trying to be bossy.

Also, Buffalo Chicken Bowls.

Buffalo Chicken Bowls:

What it took for four:

* 2 cups brown rice (plus four cups water)
* 1 1/2 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
* 1 cup flour
* 1/2 tsp cayenne
* 1 good pinch each salt and pepper
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (I use Frank’s)
* 2-3 Tbs. butter, melted
* vegetable oil for frying
* toppings: thinly sliced carrots (two carrots), minced celery (two stalks), thinly sliced red onion (1/2 cup), crumbled blue cheese (a truckload), cilantro leaves (millions)
*extra hot sauce for serving

Cook the brown rice in a rice cooker (or stovetop!) until the beep goes off. Done.

Combine the flour, cayenne, salt and pepper in medium shallow bowl. Crack the two eggs in another shallow dish, and lightly beat. Dredge the chicken in the flour mix first, shaking off any excess. Then dip/coat it in the egg wash. Then lightly dredge it once more back in the flour mix. Double battered! Continue with the rest of the chicken chunks.

Fry in hot oil until golden brown on all sides, about two minutes per batch. Let rest on paper towels to drain.

Combine the buffalo sauce and the melted butter. Pour over the fried chicken chunks and toss to coat. This is going to be the best moment of your day slash life.

At this point, you build your bowls. Evenly divide the rice among four dinner bowls. Add the chicken, and load up on all the goodies. Just pile it on for days. Garnish with cilantro and serve with extra hot sauce!

*see McCartney Nicks hybrid love baby.