Yes, as I'd said in my previous post, I will be making some Russian and Ukrainian recipes during this wartime. Very much like Borscht, the history of this dish isn't well documented. It is rumored that some Russian chefs have adapted some French culinary techniques to create this dish. It even has a French name: côtelette de volaille.
The goal of this dish is to prevent the butter from leaking during the shallow frying process. To do that, we need to perform a simple trick. Nothing magical, it is to seal the stuffed chicken breast with a rolled tender and coat it well with seasoned flour, egg and breadcrumbs (I used Japanese panko for extra cwispiness). The most important step is to allow the stuffed chicken breast to rest, chilled in the fridge before frying.
I used a very traditional route that kept the drumlet attached to the chicken breast. You can ask a butcher for help, watch some YouTube tutorials or even discard the idea if you wanna save yourself some hassle. Yes, chicken breast with the drumlet intact works fine too.
Ingredients:
(Serve 2)
Unsalted Butter Softened, 80g
Parsley Finely Chopped, A Handful
Garlic, 3 Cloves
Sea Salt, Pinch
White Pepper, Pinch
Dried Mushroom Powder, Pinch
Nutmeg Freshly Grated, Pinch
Chicken Breast with Drumlet Attached, 2
Unbleached All Purpose Flour, 1/4 Cup For Dredging
Cayenne, Pinch
Egg, 1
High Quality Japanese Panko, For Dredging
Sunflower / Peanut / Vegetable Oil, For Frying
Spinach, 200g (Optional)
Radish Finely Sliced, For Garnishing (Optional)
Equipment:
Cast Iron Skillet / Pan
Directions:
Add the softened butter and parsley into a small mixing bowl.
Finely mince the garlic and sprinkle some salt.
Using the side of a knife and smash the garlic and salt into a paste.
Add the garlic paste into the butter and parsley.
Follow by pepper, mushroom powder and nutmeg.
Mix until well combined.
Set aside chill in the fridge until ready to use.
*As for the chicken, I used the whole chicken; remove the chicken wings, thighs and skin leaving the chicken breast with drumlets intact. You can ask a butcher to help you out or you can learn by watching some YouTube tutorials.*
Remove the tenders from the chicken breast.
Wrap the tenders with cling film and roll until relatively thin with a rolling pin.
Slice the chicken breast lengthwise to butterfly.
Place a small dollop of the butter mixture onto the butterflied chicken breast.
Wrap the butter mixture with the chicken breast and seal any gaps with the rolled tender.
Repeat the steps for the remaining chicken breast.
In a shallow bowl, add flour, salt, pepper, mushroom powder and cayenne.
Mix until well combined.
In another shallow bowl, add in the egg and lightly beat.
Add a dash of water and continue beating until well combined.
In another shallow bowl, add in the panko.
Dredge the chicken breast onto the flour mixture.
Dust off any excess flour and dredge onto the beaten egg.
Follow by dredging onto the panko, back to the beaten egg and finally onto the panko.
*Make sure every nooks and cranny are well coated or the butter will leak during the frying process.*
Repeat the process for the remaining chicken breast.
Lay the dredged chicken on a plate and chill in the fridge for 30 mins to set.
In a skillet over medium heat, add 2 inches of oil.
*To check the temperature of the oil, insert a wooden chopstick into the oil.
If bubbles start to form around the chopstick, the oil is ready for frying.*
Carefully and gently drop the chicken breast away from you into the oil.
Once the bottom is golden brown, carefully flip the chicken.
Baste the chicken. This is to ensure that the thicker portion is cooked thru.
Fry until the bottom is golden brown.
Remove from heat and drain off excess oil on a wire cooling rack or on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Repeat the process for the remaining chicken breast.
I decided to use the remaining butter mixture to cook with some spinach and garnished with some radish. This is totally optional.
Transfer the chicken breast onto serving plates.
Serve immediately.
Tender, juicy, succulent...
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