Satay chicken schnitzel baguettes
This recipe is inspired by Vietnamese bánh mì, but uses easily available part-baked half baguettes instead. It takes a bit of time to assemble everything, but it’s all relatively straightforward and well worth the effort.
Preparation time: Around 40 minutes
Cooking time: Around 10 minutes
I don’t pretend that this is in any way authentic Vietnamese or Indonesian cooking, but it’s a great “cheat” option that’s quite different from most other burger or hot sandwich options.
Ingredients (serves 4):
Easy satay sauce:
Rice wine vinegar – 2 tbsp.
Soy sauce – 2 tbsp. (I use a reduced salt variety)
Sweet chilli sauce – 2 tsp. (choose brand depending on how hot you like it)
Crunchy peanut butter – 2 tbsp.
Water – 2-4 tbsp.
Chicken schnitzel baguette:
Rice wine vinegar – 2 tbsp.
Caster sugar – 2 tsp.
Red chillies – 4, sliced into thin matchsticks
Chicken breasts – 2
Roasted peanuts – 4 tbsp., crushed
Readymade breadcrumbs – 150g (good quality, possibly panko breadcrumbs)
Plain flour – 6 tbsp.
Eggs – 2, beaten
Part-baked half baguettes – 4
Carrots – 2, cut into thin matchsticks
Babyleaf salad – 1 pack
Readymade crispy onions – 2 tbsp., to serve
Method:
To pickle the chillies, mix the rice wine vinegar with the sugar in a small bowl, then soak the sliced chillies in the mixture while you do everything else;
Pre-heat the oven in accordance with the instructions on the part-baked half baguettes;
To make the satay sauce, first mix together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and peanut butter in a medium bowl, then gradually add the water until you have a smooth (but not too runny) sauce;
Place the chicken breasts on a chopping board under a sheet of clingfilm, and then bash with a rolling pin to flatten them until they’re an even thickness of about 1cm all over. Cut the flattened chicken breasts into suitably sized pieces, so that you could fit them all into a large frying pan at the same time;
In one bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the crushed peanuts (if you couldn’t buy the peanuts crushed, you could use a pestle and mortar, or put them in a food bag and crush them with a rolling pin);
Put the beaten eggs in a second bowl, and the plain flour in a third bowl with some seasoning;
Assuming the part-baked half baguettes take about 10 minutes in the oven, put them in now;
Add 2 tbsp. of sunflower oil to a large frying pan, and heat gently. Then, take each piece of chicken breast and first coat it in the plain flour, then coat it in the beaten egg, and then coat it in the breadcrumb/peanut mixture, before adding it to the frying pan;
Fry the chicken schnitzels for around 5 minutes on one side (the exact time is likely to depend on the thickness of the chicken, and the individual frying pan), then turn over and fry for about the same on the other side. While the chicken schnitzels are frying, the half baguettes should be ready to take out of the oven to cool enough to handle;
Once the chicken schnitzels are cooked, removed them from the frying pan to a clean chopping board, and then slice them into chunky strips;
To assemble, cut the half baguettes open and partially fill with the salad and carrot matchsticks, then add the strips of chicken schnitzel, before topping with a generous drizzle of the satay sauce, a scattering of the (drained) pickled chilli, and a sprinkling of crispy onions.
Satay chicken schnitzel baguette
