Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Description of chicken dish proves irresistible
I’m a sucker for schnitzel and all its cousins — katsu, Milanese, kotlet schabowy, chicken-fried steak — so this New York Times recipe for Crispy Sour Cream and Onion Chicken immediately went to the top of my must-make list. NYT Cooking shared a photo of the dish and this description on Facebook on April 3: “Picture sour cream and onion dip slathered on chicken cutlets, dredged in panko bread crumbs, and fried until crisp like a potato chip, and you’ll envision this.”
I couldn’t resist that description.
But my grocery store didn’t have any chives in stock. I considered substituting green onions, but then another customer just ahead of us in the produce department quite literally bought all the green onions in the store. So, I had to wait.
Last week the wait paid off. My neighborhood grocery store had plenty of clamshells of perfectly green fresh chives (you’ll need a quarter to half a bundle for this recipe) and my preferred chicken breasts were on sale.
The only thing I changed was to cut the recipe roughly in half for my two-person household — although after one bite I wished I hadn’t. I would have gladly eaten this dish two days in a row. (Fried cutlets like these are excellent re-heated in an air fryer, by the way.)
I paired the cutlets with blistered peppers and roasted carrots.
Crispy Sour Cream and Onion Chicken
2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (or the equivalent weight in chicken cutlets)
Salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup sour cream OR plain Greekstyle yogurt (I had an open 5.3-ounce carton of yogurt, I just dumped it in without measuring)
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon onion powder, divided use
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying Lemon wedges, for serving
If using chicken breasts, pat
them dry with paper towels and then cut each breast in half horizontally so you have four thinner cutlets. Using a meat mallet, pound the pieces to an even thickness. (I placed them in a zip-close plastic bag while I pounded to keep clean up to a minimum.) No need to split and pound if using cutlets.
Season chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, chives and half of the onion powder. Add the chicken to the mixture and coat the pieces on all sides. (Coated chicken can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours at this point. Let it come to room temperature before proceeding.)
In a wide, shallow dish combine the panko and remaining onion powder along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
Working with one piece at a time, press the chicken into the panko, pressing to coat on all sides. Transfer coated chicken to a large plate or sheet pan.
Line a wire rack with paper towels; set aside.
In a large skillet, heat about 1/8-inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Drop a piece of panko in and if it sizzles, the oil is ready. Add as many pieces of chicken as will comfortably fit without crowding and cook until golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined rack and sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken, adding oil and adjusting the heat as needed.
Serve chicken sprinkled with snipped chives and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Makes 2 servings.