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Chicken katsu rolls

Neil Perry
Neil Perry

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Chicken katsu meets banh mi.
Chicken katsu meets banh mi.William Meppem

I love the crunchy white rolls Vietnamese bakeries use for their pork banh mi. If you can't find them, aim to buy the crispest and lightest bread you can for these. Tonkatsu sauce is available in Asian grocery shops; I can't resist drizzling sriracha sauce all over the chicken for a big chilli hit. Pork or white-fleshed fish fillet would also work well when crumbed here, and the chicken itself is great served on steamed rice with the tonkatsu and pickled ginger.

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Ingredients

  • 4 skinless chicken breast fillets

  • 1½ cups panko crumbs

  • sea salt

  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

  • ½ cup milk

  • ½ cup plain flour

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter

  • 4 Vietnamese-style bread rolls

  • 1 cup tonkatsu sauce

  • freshly ground black pepper

For the coleslaw

  • ¼ savoy cabbage, finely sliced

  • 2 celery stalks, finely sliced

  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated

  • aioli or mayonnaise

Method

  1. 1. Place the chicken fillets between sheets of greaseproof paper and flatten with a rolling pin until they are between 2cm to 3cm thick.

    2. Combine the panko crumbs and a little sea salt in a shallow bowl and mix well. Beat the egg and milk until combined and tip into a second shallow bowl. Put the flour in a third shallow bowl.

    3. Dip the first chicken breast on both sides, first in the flour, then in the egg mixture, then finish in the panko crumbs and shake to evenly coat. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

    4. Heat olive oil and butter in a non-stick frying pan and shallow-fry the chicken in batches for 3 minutes on the first side, or until golden, then 2 minutes on the other. Remove and drain on paper towel.

    5. To make the coleslaw, combine the vegetables in a bowl and dress to taste with aioli or quality mayonnaise.

    6. Split the rolls in half horizontally. Spread tonkatsu sauce generously on one half and place a chicken breast on the bottom half. Top with coleslaw and season with salt and pepper.

    If you like this recipe, try my pork tonkatsu with slaw

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Neil PerryNeil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.

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Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/recipes/chicken-katsu-rolls-20200228-h1m5qt.html