Chicken parm: thin, crispy chicken cutlets topped with tomato sauce and cheese. But today, it's not served with a side of pasta or salad. Instead, it’s sitting next to garlic rice and a fried egg. Chicken parmsilog.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are perfect for crispy, tender cutlets. Just make sure they’re pounded nice and thin for even cooking. If the chicken is too thick, butterfly it.
Butterflying = big, evenly cooked chicken cutlets
Butterflying takes a thick piece of meat and makes it thinner.
To butterfly your chicken breast, pat it dry and set it on a cutting board or a solid work surface. Make sure the short side of the chicken breast is facing you.
Set your non-dominant hand over the chicken to secure its place. With your other hand, position your knife parallel to the surface of the board. Slice horizontally into the chicken, but don't go all the way through—leave about 2 inches before the end. Remember to keep your fingers out of the way!
Open the sliced chicken breast like a book. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap, and pound flat with your weapon of choice—meat mallet, rolling pin, the bottom of a sturdy frying pan, anything heavy—until ⅓ inch thick.
The result is an evenly flattened chicken breast ready to dredge and fry. We used fine breadcrumbs in ours, but we heard Skyflakes and Nova are great options too!
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
- ½ cup chopped white onions
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (400g) can whole peeled tomatoes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp sliced basil
Chicken Parm
- 500g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup flour
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 7 tbsp shredded mozzarella
- salt and pepper, to taste
- neutral oil, for frying
For Serving
- 3 eggs, fried
- 3 cups garlic rice
Make sauce: Heat 2 tbsp neutral oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until aromatics are fragrant and have softened, about 3 minutes.
Add tomato paste. Stir until the paste has darkened, about 1 minute. Add canned tomatoes and stir. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and maintain a simmer. Cook until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Stir in sliced basil. Simmer for another 5 minutes then take off the heat. Set aside.
Prepare chicken: Check if the chicken breasts are too thick. In that case, butterfly the piece to ensure even cooking. Place the knife on the thickest part of the chicken, ensuring it’s parallel to the surface of your board. Slice horizontally toward the thinnest point of the chicken but don’t slice all the way through. Open chicken like a book.
Place chicken breast in between a layer of plastic wrap or inside a ziplock bag. Pound chicken with the back of your knife or a meat mallet until ¼-inch thick. Repeat with the rest of your chicken.
Dredge chicken: Place flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs into three individual wide bowls or trays. Season the breadcrumbs with salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix until fully incorporated. This is your breading station.
Working one piece at a time, place your chicken into the flour. Dredge until chicken is well-coated on both sides. Shake off excess flour. Transfer to the beaten eggs and coat both sides well. Let the excess egg drip off before transferring to the breadcrumbs. Flip to coat, packing in the breadcrumbs onto the chicken for an extra crispy crust.
Fry: Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add enough oil for a shallow fry—you want the oil to cover about half of the chicken but not fully submerge it. Once oil registers 350°F, fry each cutlet until light brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Repeat with remaining chicken and set aside.
Serve: Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Transfer the chicken to an ovenproof pan or tray. Spoon tomato sauce onto each cutlet, spreading it evenly on the surface. Sprinkle parmesan and about 2-3 tablespoons of mozzarella over the chicken, covering the tomato sauce.
Place the pan or tray into the oven and bake for 5 minutes. You want the cheese to be golden brown and bubbly. Serve each cutlet with a fried egg and a cup of garlic rice.
