Chicken Burger Bowl

Yes but it's best to prepare the ingredients separately and assemble the bowl when you are ready to eat it.

You can chop the lettuce, tomatoes and pickles ahead of time and keep them covered in the fridge. You can also cook the chicken in advance. The fries are best cooked just before serving because they lose their crispness as they cool and sit underneath the toppings.

If you need to prepare everything ahead, keep the fries and chicken in separate containers from the lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and sauces. Then reheat the fries and chicken until hot and crisp before assembling the bowl. We still highly recommend eating and enjoying this fresh and hot as this is when the taste and texture as at it's best.

The secret is to make the fries a little crispier than you normally would and add the toppings at the very last moment.

Cook the fries in a single layer with enough space around them so they roast rather than steam. An air fryer is particularly good for this but a hot oven works well too. Once they are golden and crispy, season them immediately and put them into the serving bowl.

Melt the American cheese over the hot fries, then add the chicken and fresh toppings. The sauces should always be drizzled over the bowl right before serving.

There is a good reason for this order. Once sauces and watery ingredients sit against fries, moisture quickly softens the crispy coating.

For this particular recipe American processed cheese is an excellent choice because it melts smoothly over hot fries and gives the bowl that classic fast food cheeseburger flavour.

You can use other cheeses if you prefer. Cheddar is a common choice in chicken burger bowl recipes and works well but it gives you a stronger sharper cheese flavour.

I would stick with the three slices of American cheese. Put them directly over the freshly cooked fries and briefly heat them until they become soft and melted. This gives you much better coverage than simply adding cold cheese during assembly.

A breaded chicken steak is ideal for this version because it gives you the crispy coating that makes the bowl feel like a chicken burger rather than a chicken salad.

The supermarket chicken steak used in this recipe is particularly convenient because it is already breaded and portioned. Cook it according to the packet instructions until the outside is properly golden and crisp, then let it rest for a minute or two before cutting it into bite sized pieces.

Chicken schnitzel, breaded chicken breast, crispy chicken strips or chicken nuggets can also work well.

The important thing is the texture. Whichever chicken you use just make sure the coating is crisp before you chop it and add it to the bowl.

Keep as much unnecessary moisture away from the fries as possible. The easiest things you can do are squeeze the watery centres out of the cherry tomatoes, pat the chopped pickles dry and add the lettuce, vegetables and sauces only after the cheese and chicken are in place.

It also helps to keep the ingredients layered rather than stirring everything together. Start with the crispy fries, melt the cheese over them, add the chicken then put the lettuce, tomatoes and pickles on top. Finish with thin drizzles of garlic mint mayonnaise and BBQ sauce.

This gives you a much better contrast between hot crispy fries, crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, sharp pickle and creamy sauce. Keeping dressings and wet ingredients away from the crispy components until serving is is something many others recommend.

For the best result do not reheat the completely assembled bowl.

Remove the lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and sauces if possible. Reheat the fries and chicken separately in an air fryer or oven until hot and crisp, then assemble the bowl again with fresh toppings.

An air fryer is particularly useful because it brings some of the crispness back to the chicken and fries without making them as soft as a microwave does. If using an oven, around 180°C works well for reheating the cooked components. Current recipes recommend the oven or air fryer for reheating and specifically advise keeping the sauces and fresh ingredients separate.

The microwave will work if speed is more important than texture but expect softer fries and a less crisp chicken coating. For the best taste we suggest eating this dish fresh if possible.