Japanese Fried Chicken

With Wilted Spinach, Blistered Tomatoes, Oven Roasted Shiitakes, Red Thai Curry Sauce and Jasmine Rice
Serves 2

This is a new dish for “Earth and Ocean”. This recipe is a simplified version, for you to cook at home. The inspiration for this dish is from my trips to Japan and Thailand; where I ate a simple, very delicious Fried Chicken dish with my chef friends. I hope you will like it as much as I do.

Ingredients we need..

Chicken Breasts

• 2 pieces skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 6 large chunks
• ½ cup / 60 grams all-purpose flour
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1 cup / 120 grams panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons shichimi togarashi (japanese 7 x spice mix) – available online
• Pinch coarse kosher salt
• 2 cups / 500 ml vegetable oil / for frying

Red Thai Curry Sauce

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons red thai curry paste
• 1 ½ cups / 350 ml coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• ½ teaspoon palm sugar / or white sugar
• 1 piece kaffir lime leaves (ideally fresh)

Wilted Spinach

• 4 handful fresh baby spinach, washed and drained
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• pinch coarse kosher salt
• pinch fresh ground black pepper

To garnish the dish…

If you prefer not to garnish the dish simply leave out Steps 3 and 4.

Blistered Tomatoes

• 1 handful cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch coarse kosher salt
• pinch fresh ground black pepper

Oven Roasted Shiitake (Mushrooms)

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch coarse kosher salt
• pinch fresh ground black pepper

Jasmine Rice

• 2 side bowls cooked jasmine rice / or any other rice of your preference

Let’s cook it…

Step 1- Preheat the Oven

• Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit / 220° Celsius.

Step 2 - Make the Red Curry Sauce

• Heat up the vegetable oil in a medium size skillet on medium heat.
• Add red curry paste, sizzle for a few seconds, and then pour in coconut milk and bring to the boil.
• Add kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce and a pinch of sugar, reduce and simmer for 3-4 minutes; and set aside
Tip - if you like it saltier, add more fish sauce; if you like it sweeter, add more sugar.

Step 3 - Make the Blistered Tomatoes

• Wash the cherry tomatoes and try with paper towel.
• In a bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat.
• Transfer the tomatoes to a baking sheet pan layered with aluminum foil
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the skin starts to blister of the tomatoes, remove from oven and set aside.

Step 4 - Oven Roast the Shiitake Mushrooms

• Wash the mushrooms and then dry with paper towel.
• Leave mushrooms whole, just trim the stems a little.
• In a bowl combine all ingredients and toss to coat.
• Transfer the mushrooms to a baking sheet pan layered with aluminum foil
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, turning mushrooms once or twice.
• Once done, remove from oven and set aside

Step 5 - Prepare the Chicken

• Season the chicken breast pieces with kosher salt.
• Prepare three dishes:
- one with the flour
- one with the eggs
- one with the panko breadcrumbs combined with the shichimi togarashi
• One by one, dredge each chicken piece in the flour, then the egg wash, then the panko-spice mix, then set aside.

Step 6 - Fry the Chicken

• In a large skillet, heat about a 1/4 inch (1 cm) of vegetable oil on medium heat.
• Fry the chicken pieces in batches for about 3 minutes per side or until they are cooked through and crisp on the outside. (The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C.)
• Transfer the finished chicken pieces on paper towels to drain.

Step 7 - Cook the Spinach

• Heat a large skillet over high heat until hot.
• Add the sesame oil and the spinach and toss quickly with oil to coat.
• When spinach is just wilted, about 2 minutes, remove from heat and season with salt and fresh pepper.
• Discard any access liquid of the spinach and set aside.

Step 8 - Plate the dish

• Arrange the spinach onto the serving plate.
• Place the fried chicken onto the spinach.
• Spoon red curry sauce around the spinach.
• Arrange the blistered tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms onto the plate
• Garnish with some fried sage / or fried basil. Enjoy
• Serve with jasmine rice on the side.

Happy “Stay Home” Cooking! with Chef Anton “Tony” Egger