Lebanese Chicken Escalope
A classic children’s meal is Lebanon is the Chicken Escalope, when we came home afterschool and our mom wanted to make something quick or when we went over my aunt’s house for a playdate there was always Chicken Escalope, fries, and coleslaw waiting for us at the lunch table.
Recipe (for 3 chicken breasts sliced horizontally and beaten flat as a chicken cutlet)
3 chicken breasts, beaten flat
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 eggs
4 cups ground plain ka’ak or breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cooking oil, canola or avocado oil
Coleslaw:
1 small cabbage, shredded 1/3 cup mayo
a squeeze of lemon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp honey
Directions:
Clean your chicken as desired. I clean my chicken by soaking it in ice cold water with lemon slices and vinegar for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken then then pat dry with a paper towel.
Cut the chicken horizontally and using a meat beater, beat the chicken flat. Set the chicken slices aside. (a very important step to avoid the burning the outside of the chicken and having a raw center while frying)
Crack the egg and add to a bowl with the whole milk, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then add the chicken slices to the bowl. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes.
Note: you do not have to dip the chicken in flour, egg, and then breadcrumbs. I learned through America’s Test Kitchen that marinating the chicken into a milk mixture and then dipping it in breadcrumb helps the breadcrumb stick to the chicken.
On a tray, add the breadcrumb, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and dried parsley to a tray, mix the dry ingredients well.
Remove each chicken slice from the milk mixture and add it immediately to the breadcrumb. Press it firmly on each side. Then lay the chicken slice flat on a tray.
In a frying pan, add the oil and bring it to a medium low heat.
Slowly add 2-3 chicken escalope at a time flipping it once each side is golden brown. It usually takes 8 minutes of frying.
Remove from the oil and place on a tray or plate with paper towel to remove excess oil.
You can serve this with fries and coleslaw.
Make the coleslaw: Shred the cabbage, then add to a bowl with mayo, lemon, black pepper, and honey. Optional, you can add corn to the coleslaw.
You can freeze the extra chicken escalope. Place in a freezer ziploc bag, make sure the chicken doesn’t touch in the bag, lay the bag flat.
