BReaded Chicken

4 chicken breast fillets, mini fillet removed and butterflied
about 125ml cornflour, sifted
2 eggs
30ml cold water
250ml panko breadcrumbs
oil for shallow-frying

Cut the butterflied chicken breasts in half to form two pieces more or less the same size (smaller pieces of chicken are easier to crumb). Flatten each with a meat mallet (or rolling pin) to a thickness of about 5mm – this helps to cook them uniformly.

Put the cornflour in a shallow bowl (big enough for the chicken pieces). Beat the egg and water together in a second shallow bowl and put crumbs in a third one. Season the flour with salt and pepper and a sprinkling of herbs such as thyme, if desired. Dip the chicken pieces one by one in the flour, then the egg and finally in the crumbs, until coated all over.

Repeat with all the pieces. If time allows, refrigerate the crumbed chicken for 15–30 minutes – this helps the coating to adhere properly. If you’re using mini fillets or chicken nuggets, the process is the same, you’ll just need more crumbs.

Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan; you don’t want the crumbed coating to flake off in the pan or to scorch. Fry one or two pieces of chicken at a time for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden-brown. Drain on paper towel and repeat with the rest.

Air fryer

Remember to spray the crumbed chicken with oil before air-frying – this is important for flavour and colour. Take care not to overload the basket with chicken pieces. Chicken fingers take 7–10 minutes to cook at 200°C and crumbed chicken breasts like this take 10–12 minutes. Carefully turn the chicken halfway through the cooking time.

Mini fillets Whole chicken breast fillets still have the mini fillet on; simply cut it off with a sharp knife. These mini fillets make ideal chicken fingers and can also be bought in packs.

Butterflied To butterfly a breast fillet, cut the fillet (without the mini fillet) in half lengthwise, but don’t cut all the way through, then open it out. It looks like a little heart, and fries quickly and evenly.