Thursday, September 25, 2008

Lemon Pepper Panko Chicken

On the dinner plate: lemon pepper panko chicken, jasmine rice and fresh garden zucchini with Parmesan cheese. We also had fresh garden sweet corn.
Lemon Pepper Panko Chicken
I use the lemon pepper chicken breasts from Schwan's for this recipe. Put a little oil in a frying pan on medium heat - don't use non-stick, because the bread crumbs toast up better on a regular skillet. When oil is hot, add the chicken breasts flat-side down. Cook them for 5-7 minutes, until there is a nice brown carmelization on that side. Flip them over and turn heat down a little. Sprinkle panko bread crumbs generously on the top and press them into the chicken. It's O-K to sprinkle them all over the pan, don't worry about being messy. Cook chicken another 5 minutes or so, then flip again, so the crumbs are pan-side down. Sprinkle the chicken with panko again and press down. You'll do one more flip to brown up the crumbs. Go ahead and scoop toasted crumbs from the pan and press them into the chicken. No set time here, just get the crumbs toasty and make sure the chicken is done.
Jasmine Rice
I like to saute my jasmine rice before cooking it. And I rinse the rice. Put a tablespoon of butter in the pan you're going to use for rice (a pan with a lid). Melt the butter until it's bubbly, then dump in rinsed rice - I used 2 cups) and stir to coat with the butter and cook until you see a couple of browned piece of rice. Add 3 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer and cover until done.
Zucchini and Parmesan cheese
I peel and slice the fresh baby zucchini to about 1/4 inch think. Place in pan without stacking them. Turn heat to medium and then turn the pieces over when they start to brown. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with grated parm. Let the cheese melt and then serve. Notice that you don't need to put butter or oil in the pan, there's a lot of moisture in zucchini so oil is not needed.

No comments: