No thanks to my old friend Suanie’s post on the Malaysian-Western chicken chop, I just HAD to make this dish. Heck, I ran out to the supermarket for some chicken the very next day. I tell you, that’s the one thing I hate about the Internet. You see beautiful food writeups coupled with mouthwatering pictures and description of food, and WHAM, you just HAVE to have it. Not such a big problem you say? Well, not if you’re living in Malaysia or a city where food is readily available, or better still ingredients are aplenty allowing you to whip up dishes as and when you like.
The opposite is true for me. Especially when it comes to Asian food. Asian ingredients are scarce here. I hoard lemongrass, pandan (screwpine leaves), kaffir lime leaves, cili padi and even curry leaves. One of my freezer drawers is dedicated especially for my precious, scarce ingredients. As I type, I have a small bucket of water in my balcony that I’ve filled with kangkung stalks. I’m trying to propagate them you see. Not so easy when you are living in an apartment. I’ll speak lovingly to my kangkung and encourage them to grow. Let’s see how that works out 😉
Ingredients
2 deboned chicken thighs, skin removed
3 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Liberal dashes of white pepper powder
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp cornflour
1 egg, beaten
Oil for frying
Mushroom sauce
1 large onion, sliced
4 tbsps butter
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chicken broth (can be substituted with chicken cube or else 2 tbsp oyster sauce)
Black pepper to taste
Method
Chicken
1. Marinate the chicken pieces with Worcestershire sauce, salt and white pepper for 24 hours. (I marinated mine for 36 hours, and the chicken was really tasty and moist!)
2. Smear chicken pieces with cornflour.
3. Crack egg into a bowl that’s not too small and beat it. Chicken must be able to fit in the bowl as you want to coat it with the egg. Coat chicken evenly with egg.
3. Dredge chicken pieces with breadcrumbs, making sure that the surface of the chicken is completely and evenly coated with breadcrumbs.
4. Fry immediately in hot oil, flipping sides when it has turned a nice golden brown.
5. Drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Mushroom sauce
1. Melt butter in a saucepan. When hot, add in onions and sautee till translucent and fragrant. Add in mushrooms till it browns.
2. Mixture should be slightly wet. Otherwise, add a little bit more butter. Add in flour, LITTLE BY LITTLE alternating with chicken broth, otherwise you will end up with lumps. Mix to incorporate.
3. Add in flour to desired consistency. If you want a thicker sauce, use more flour for your roux. Otherwise, add more broth or water. Be careful with using cubes or broth, they may get too salty!
4. Add black pepper to taste.
5. Pour sauce over chicken chop.
Note:
1.Make sure that oil is hot when you start to fry, otherwise the oil will get absorbed into the chicken rendering it oily and mushy.
2.Fry chicken at small-medium fire, otherwise chicken gets burnt on the outside but will be uncooked on the inside.
3. Do not overcrowd the frying pan when frying. Do it in batches if you have to.
4. I like my mushroom sauce with chunky onion pieces. If you don’t, chop the onion finely to get a smoother sauce.
5. Serve with some salad at the side. Some rat one in my house finished a whole box of cherry tomatoes I had, hence I had to substitute with some lettuce and corn 😛
6. Serve with Lingham’s chilli sauce for a truly Malaysian experience 🙂
I’m glad I made this. It was surprisingly easy and quick. Thanks for the inspiration Suan 😉
oh you’re welcome. except that YOU make ME want to eat chicken chop now, hahaha. i’ve crab plans tonight 😀
WJ: Now CRAB I cannot replicate 😦 simply coz there aren’t any crabs here. Boohoo
You’re right about seeing recipes online and wanting to make it. I think I know what to make this weekend 🙂
WJ: And what would that be? 😉
Ahem, so I made it and blogged about it. It was soooo goooood but this noob will need tips on how not to burn the breadcrumbs and make sure the chicken is entirely cooked! I blame my husband for not taking me to another supermarket that sells bonesless chicken thigh!
WJ: Whoa you really did try it eh 🙂 It looks good nonetheless.