Do you know panko? It's a Japanese style of bread crumbs used to coat fried food. The crumbs are large and very flaky. It's made from yeast-raised bread dough that is baked in a special oven so it does not form a crust. The crumbs start out very pale colored but cook up golden brown. You can find it in the Asian section of just about any supermarket.
Traditional Japanese recipes using panko include Tonkatsu, a breaded fried pork cutlet. It is delicious, like most fried food, but not very healthy. I knew there had to be a way to use panko to make an oven-fried crispy chicken breast or cutlet. But I will admit, it took several attempts to get this one right. It really satisfies that craving for crispy fried food but is practically guilt-free. I used the Creole Mustard from Dulcet Cuisine which has a stone-ground texture and is flavored with onion, garlic, paprika, pepper and thyme. So I guess this is kind of a Southern/Japanese fusion entree.
The trick to this technique is to mix the panko crumbs with just a little bit of melted butter then put it on top of the mustard coated chicken by hand instead of dipping the chicken in the crumbs. You can use any kind of mustard you like, but the Creole Mustard is really terrific with this recipe. I recommend letting the chicken cool a little and serving it in slices with roast potatoes, carrots and brussels sprouts.
Crispy Panko Mustard Chicken
serves 2
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Creole Mustard
1/4 cup panko
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Melt the butter in a small dish in a microwave oven then combine the butter with the panko crumbs in a small mixing bowl.
Coat chicken breasts with mustard then place on a greased, foil-lined baking sheet, top with crumbs and bake approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
Enjoy!