Ever since I discovered panko (see note), I make this easy dish all the time. The trick is to work fast once the chicken is cooked and add the salt and lemon as soon as you get the chicken out of the pan. Don’t worry if it looks like too much lemon juice—when the chicken is hot, the juice soaks through the crispy coating and adds fabulous flavor to the chicken.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts. Lay them on a work surface between two layers of plastic wrap. Gently pound with a meat tenderizer until they are about 1/8 inch thick.
Step 2
In a large, shallow dish, beat the eggs. Pour the panko in another large, shallow dish. Working with one piece at a time, coat the chicken on both sides with egg. Let the excess run off and then dredge both sides in the panko. Place the chicken on a large baking sheet or platter and continue with the remaining chicken.
Step 3
Line 1 or 2 large platters or baking sheets with paper towels. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmery and hot but not smoking. Place as many pieces of chicken as can fit without crowding. Fry until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to prepared platters. Immediately sprinkle the chicken lightly with salt and squeeze over a generous amount of lemon juice from a halved lemon. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked, adding more oil to the pan if necessary. Serve.
Panko
Step 4
Every Texan cook worth her salt knows breading and frying as well as the back of her hand. My mother, aunts, sisters, and I are no exception. I grew up on breaded and fried chicken, fish, and vegetables: The philosophy was that if it could be eaten, it should be breaded and fried. For years I understood that the texture of the breading was the most important part of this equation. But more often than not, ordinary bread crumbs turned out coatings that were either so heavy that they interfered with the taste of what was inside or too bland to make the deep-frying worth the effort. Then one night several years ago, one of the many cooking shows I love to watch featured panko. I ran out the next day to get some, and my breading was reborn. These flaky bread crumbs from Japan are everything I wanted bread crumbs to be: They provide a thin, crunchy coating and muted but not dull flavor.
