Recipe from 'Taste of Asia' Class

In honor of his always sold-out class Taste of Asia, Chef Avram Wiseman provides a beautiful and not overly complicated recipe for Japanese cooked chicken roll.


Ingredients:

Chicken cutlets 1 and 1/2 lbs.
Sushi rice 3/4 cup
Rice vinegar 3/4 oz
Sugar 1 teaspoon
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Nori seaweed sheets 2 ea.
Asparagus, medium 4 ea.
Carrots cut into ¼ inch strips1 ea
Red pepperscut into ¼ inch strips 1 ea.
A/P Flour 4 oz
Eggs, large 2 ea.
Panko crumbs 2 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying




Procedure:

Prepare the sushi rice by following directions on the bag(or rice cooker instructions). While the rice is cooking, mix rice vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl. When the rice is cooked, turn it out into a wooden mixing bowl. Immediately, drizzle the vinegar syrup over the cooked rice and mix in gently with a rubber spatula until the rice is room temperature. Cover with a moist paper towel and reserve.

Blanch the carrots and asparagus separately and reserve.


Butterfly cut and lightly pound the chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap. Form a rectangular shape with the chicken breasts. Lay a sheet of Nori on the chicken. Spread a thin layer of rice over the bottom half of Nori, and then carefully place an asparagus spear, carrot stick and red pepper strip on the rice. Roll the entire preparation into a "log." Place in freezer until frozen.

Remove from the freezer. Remove the plastic wrap. Dredge the frozen log into seasoned flour to lightly coat entire log, especially the ends! Shake off excess flour. Coat in beaten egg mixture, and roll in Panko crumbs.

Drop chicken log into hot canola oil (325º). Fry until golden brown. Place chicken in a 325º oven for 30-35 minutes.

Chicken is ready to serve when internal temperature is 155º. Check with an instant read thermometer. Carefully slice with a serrated knife. Serve immediately.