Moist and crispy pan-fried chicken breast from Francois

Boneless chicken breast are handy: easy to freeze and quick to cook in case you have unexpected guests. But pan-fry them and they become moist in the center and with a leathery and tough exterior. The present recipe is designed to try to address this problem by pre-cooking slowly the marinated chicken pieces and coating them before frying them. The coating protect them from the heat and prevent them from getting dry. The marinade (salting) is designed to preserve the moisture inside.

Poke and salt

Cover in foil and cook at 130ºC

Salt and poke the chicken. Cook in low temperature oven at 130ºC for about 20-25 minutes (do not overcook or the meat will loose its juices and become dry). Inside temperature: approximately 65ºC.

The ingredients for the coating

Mix

Prepare the coating: 35g of butter, 15g of flour (1 tablespoon) and 3g of cornflour (1 teaspoon). Melt the butter and mix the ingredients.

Brush on coating

Pan-fry, 2 minutes each side

Brush on the coating. Pan-fry quickly on high fire to obtain crispy exterior and moist interior.

Presentation

Chinese alternative: marinate cubes of chicken with a mixture of chilli bean sauce (1 teaspoon), rice wine/dry sherry (2 teaspoons), soy sauce (2 teaspoons), chopped ginger (2 teaspoons) and spring onions (1 tablespoon) and sugar ( 1 teaspoon) for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok (oil almost smoking), sprinkle the chicken cubes with 1 tablespoon and deep-fry quickly (6-8 minutes depending on quantities).

Japanese alternative (Toriniku Tatsuta-age). Marinade: 6 tablespoon (Tbsp=15 ml) saké, 3 Tbsp light soy sauce, 1 Tbsp fresh ginger juice, 2 Tbsp finely chopped green onion. Marinate 30 minutes then drain the marinade from the chucken and dust lightly with flour. Let rest for 2 minutes. Bring hot oil to 170ºC in heavy-bottomed pot. Fry the chicken pieces, a few at a time. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.