The Refreshing Side Dish You Should Pair With Fried Chicken And Waffles
Chicken and waffles is a golden dish featuring a stack of comfort foods exploding with indulgent flavors from crispy breaded chicken, to light and airy waffles, all coated in a coyingly sweet drizzle of maple syrup. Like with most renowned dishes, the origin of chicken and waffles is hotly contested. Everyone wants to take credit, from chefs on the East Coast, the West Coast, and those in the South, but it's best known for its ties to Black American cuisine. And while we think this iconic soul food meal is perfect as is, there's a side dish addition that will take the flavor combos to the next level.
We spoke with Kelly Mullarney who is the co-founder and corporate chef at Bruxie, a California breakfast chain that focuses on reimagining chicken and waffles, and she suggests adding a honey mustard slaw to lighten what could be a pretty heavy dish. Unlike the traditional type of coleslaw you'd see in a Southern dish, honey mustard slaw replaces mayo with honey mustard which adds a nice vinaigrette-y zing to the fats and oils in your chicken and waffle dish.
Simple honey mustard dressing recipe
While taking a stab at making your own chicken and waffle dish takes a ton of prep time and requires a mess of kitchen utensils, the slaw is relatively easy. To start, you'll of course need honey mustard. If you don't have a go-to honey mustard brand already, we highly recommend Inglehoffer Honey Mustard, which won in our ranking of 17 honey mustard brands. Then all you need to do is add half a cup (or more if you really love honey mustard) to a bag of coleslaw, along with some thinly minced red onion, salt and pepper, and you're good to go.
If you like a little bit of spice to your coleslaw or your chicken and waffles, we recommend adding a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Some people also include a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, which we're all about especially if pairing this coleslaw with a heavy dish like chicken and waffles. The more vinegar, the more vibrant the other flavors in your dish will be.