Hungary: Chicken Paprika

When I visited Hungary a few years ago, I learned one thing for certain. Hungarians love their paprika. It's everywhere! I found this particular recipe in one of Mom's "30 minute meals" cookbooks, so I'm assuming it's not authentically Hungarian. Hungarian-inspired might be a better term. Regardless, this is probably my favorite way to cook chicken.

For the chicken:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into strips.

.25 cup flour

3 tsp. paprika

Salt

Olive oil or butter

For the sauce (delicious but optional):

.75 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, minced

.5 tsp. caraway seeds

1 tbsp. dry white wine or sherry

Salt

For the chicken:

Step 1: Combine flour, paprika and a few dashes of salt in a bowl.

Step 2: Coat the chicken pieces in the mixture.

Step 3: Meanwhile, heat olive oil or butter over medium heat in a large pan

Step 4: Add chicken to pan, and cook until slightly crispy on the outside (about 10-15 minutes), flipping occasionally. Remove from pan.

For the sauce:

Step 1: In the same pan you just cooked the chicken in, add heavy cream, garlic and caraway seeds.

Step 2: Bring to a boil, stirring.

Step 3: Add white wine or sherry, and a dash of salt.

Step 4: Continue to boil for about 2 minutes. The sauce should thicken slightly.

Serve over egg noodles! 

Side Note: I've never actually done it this way, but I think this recipe would work just as well with sour cream in place of heavy cream. It's probably what the Hungarians would do.