When I requested a cabbage in my produce basket recently, I was expecting a smallish cabbage -- something in the 1-1.5kg range. What I got was a truly massive 4.5kg behemoth of a vegetable! So the upshot of this is that we now have a truly terrifying amount of cabbage to use up. We've used up some in frittatas and egg rice already, but this was my attempt to use up a bit more.

Sadly, although the chicken and sauce for this was great, the cabbage salad was pretty so-so. I mean, there isn't much to it, so maybe that's to be expected. But I've often been surprised by the gustatory impact of similarly simple dishes in the past, so I was hoping that this might be a repeat of that situation. Alas, it was not. But the rest of the dish was still great. Especially with the added scrambled eggs! And TF mixed up a batch of a different cabbage salad to go with the leftovers tonight. (The remainders of the original cabbage salad got mixed into the egg rice this morning.)

I also think this meal would be great with peas added either instead of or, better yet, as well as the cabbage.

Panko-Crusted Chicken with Cabbage Salad

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country October/November 2020

Ingredients

Cabbage Salad¹

• 4 c. thinly sliced green cabbage
• 1 Tbsp. toyomansi (or 1/2 Tbsp. each light soy sauce and calamansi or lime juice)
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1 green onion, sliced (optional)

Sauce

• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Roman mustard (or Dijon mustard)
• 1 tsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce

Chicken

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 c. flour
• 8 chicken cutlets (~100g each)
• 1/2 c. oil, divided

To serve

• 6-8 large eggs
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• ~4 c. cooked rice
• 2 c. green peas, cooked or thawed frozen (optional)
• 2 green onions, sliced (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
2. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix.
3. Beat the two eggs with the salt and place in a medium bowl.
4. Combine the panko and flour and place in a wide, shallow plate or dish.
5. Dip the chicken cutlets into the egg mixture, then coat with panko.
6. Heat 1/4 c. of the oil over medium heat.
7. Add 4 of the coated cutlets to the pan and cook until cooked through and crispy and golden on both sides (~5 minutes per side). Remove from pan and set aside.
8. Add the remaining oil and cook the remaining cutlets in the same manner.
9. Beat the remaining 6-8 eggs with any residual egg from breading the chicken. Beat in a Tbsp. or so of the sauce if desired.
10. Add the remaining 1 tsp. of sesame oil to the pan and pour in the eggs. Let cook most of the way, then flip and turn to allow any still raw egg to finish cooking. Use lifter/spatula to break into large curds as the eggs finish cooking.
11. Slice chicken cutlets into strips ~1cm wide.
12. Serve rice topped with peas (if using), chicken pieces, and scrambled eggs.
13. Drizzle with sauce and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
14. Serve cabbage salad on the side.

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¹ Alternatively, replace the cabbage salad specified here with Cabbage Salad with Sesame-Dressing. ^Back