This fun and filling meal is inspired by chicken katsu, but borrows flavours from South East Asia, like fish sauce, lychee, sweet chili sauce and coconut. What you get is an incredibly seasoned crispy crusted chicken cutlet atop a sticky bed of coconut rice, topped with a sesame infused spicy mayo. Serve it along side your favourite Asian inspired greens or salad (cucumber salad, seaweed salad, and mango salad would all be great with this).
Crispy Chicken Cutlets on Golden Coconut Rice
Prep Time: 45 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Yield: 4-6 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the Chicken
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs lychee balsamic vinegar
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs sriracha hot sauce
1 tbs sweet chili sauce
3 chicken breasts, split in half and lightly pounded to flatten slightly
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1 tbs everything bagel seasoning (sub 1 tbs sesame seeds + 1/2 tsp flakey salt)
Neutral oil (like vegetable or canola oil) for pan frying
For the Rice
2 & 1/2 cups uncooked sticky/calrose rice, washed and drained 3-4 times
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
2 cups water
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
For the Sesame Spicy Mayo
1/3 cup kewpie mayo
2-4 tbs sriracha hot sauce (adjust to your taste)
1 tbs tahini paste
DIRECTIONS
To a large shallow baking dish, add the garlic clove, soy sauce, lychee vinegar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, and sweet chili sauce. Whisk to combine.
Cut the chicken breasts in half butterfly style. Use a rolling pin or kitchen mallet to gently pound the breasts, ensuring not to pound so hard that you rip them. Place the breasts into the marinade from Step 1, and mix well to coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
While the chicken is marinating, start your rice. Add all of the ingredients for the rice into the bowl of your rice cooker. Stir well, then put bowl into the the rice cooker and turn it on. When the rice cooker clicks off, unplug and open the lid. There should still be some liquid that hasn't been absorbed yet; stir the rice gently to avoid breaking the grains, close the lid, and let it sit (with the cooker off) for 10-15 mins, until the remaining liquid has been absorbed.
Set up your dredging station with 3 shallow plates. In the first plate, add the flour, garlic powder and ginger powder; mix with a fork to combine. To the second plate, add the beaten eggs. To the third plate, add the Panko and everything bagel seasoning; mix with a fork to combine.
Gently place the chicken breasts into the flour mixture, making sure to cover both sides. Next, dip the chicken into the beaten egg, making sure to fully dredge the whole breast, then finally, dip into the Panko mixture, again, making sure to cover both sides fully. You can use your fingers or a pair of tongs to press the chicken into the breadcrumbs to ensure you get a nice thick crust.
To a large frying pan, add enough oil to fill cover the bottom and come up the side about 1/4 inch. Turn the heat on to medium low, and allow the oil to get hot. Once hot, place 2-3 breasts (depending on the size of your pan) into the oil. Allow to cook for 4-6 minutes, until golden, then flip and cook another 4-6 mins on the other side, until an internal temperature of 165 F is reached. Repeat with remaining chicken - you may need to add more oil to pan after each batch.
Add all of the ingredients for the sesame spicy mayo into a small bowl, and mix well to combine.
To assemble, divide the rice between 4-6 plates. Cut the chicken cutlets into strips and divide evenly on top of each plate of rice. Drizzle with spicy mayo, or serve it on the side. This dish is great with Asian style greens/salads like cucumber salad, seaweed salad, or mango salad.
NOTES
If you can't find lychee balsamic vinegar, use rice vinegar plus 1 tsp of sugar or honey