Shock. Horror. Nando’s and KFC have made headlines in recent weeks for being low on stock of some of the nation’s favourite takeaway feasts. I can’t say I'm surprised. When you rely on a long supply chain (ie you aren’t sourcing locally) especially in a post-Brexit, pandemic-riddled world, bad things are bound to happen.

I’m not in mourning – I certainly won’t lose any sleep at not being able to have a cheeky chicken burger at the weekend. But my teens are rather partial (despite my protests) to a ‘boneless banquet’...and I always wince at the drive-thru counter as I hand over my hard-earned dough for dried out orange chicken pieces and underwhelmingly soggy fries, when we could be having good old fish and chips.

If you’ve not been able to get your mitts on that regular portion of fried chicken, why not save yourself a bit of cash (and a good few calories) by making it at home?

I can’t claim this week’s recipe tastes exactly like the Colonel’s nuggets, but it’s pretty close. If you really want to recreate the experience, decant the chicken into cardboard boxes and go sit in the car on the driveway...maybe with the radio on.

The method also works with fish (cut the fish slightly larger, and pan fry only), firm tofu, halloumi and aubergine. You could even (though I hate it) use one of those pretend chicken meat replacement products.

Serve with oven chips, your favourite sauces, maybe some corn. Enjoy.

Homemade healthier KFC

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

650-800g boneless, skinless chicken pieces – about 5cm long, 2-3cm wide

For the egg mix:

2 large eggs

Seasoning

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp onion powder

1/2tsp cayenne pepper

For the flour mix:

250g plain flour

1.5tsps fine sea salt

1tbsp fresh ground black pepper

2tsps garlic powder

1tsp onion powder

2tsps ground paprika

1/2tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp dried sage

1tsp dried oregano

Oil for frying

Method

Get your cooking area prepared first. You need a frying pan, with about 1cm vegetable oil in, and two cooling racks with kitchen paper or a tray below.

Combine your egg mix in one bowl and your flour mix in another.

Add all the chicken to the egg bowl and mix well. Now, take each piece of chicken, hold it above the egg bowl, let the excess drip off and add to the flour bowl. When all the chicken is added, get your hands in and roughly mix everything together until the chicken is well coated.

Place each piece on a waiting cooling rack. Leave for 10 minutes. That allows the egg and flour to marry up and stick better to the chicken. Pre-heat the oven to 210C.

Now heat your pan of oil so that a small piece of bread turns golden almost instantly. Place a few pieces of chicken in the pan and carefully cook for a minute on each side, turning the heat down as you need to, so it colours all over. Place the coloured chicken on your second, waiting cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip away.

Once all the chicken is coloured place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and crisp, turning once. If you go over this time slightly don’t worry – the coating of the chicken should prevent it going dry.