Katsu sando (spiced crispy chicken and cabbage sandwich)

We've given the classic Japanese schnitzel sandwich a makeover - we've used shredded chicken as the filling for a lighter version.

Katsu sando Credit: Benito Martin

• makes

  3

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g chicken breast fillet
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 90 g (½ cup) coarse tapioca flour (see Note), sieved
• vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
• 6 slices Tip Top 9 Grain® bread, crusts sliced off (see Note)
• whole-egg mayonnaise, for spreading
• shichimi togarashi spice (Japanese red pepper spice, see Note), for sprinkling
• 70 g Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
• lemon halves, for squeezing over

Instructions

Flatten the chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with a meat mallet until about 3 mm thick. Remove the plastic wrap and thinly shred the chicken into 3 mm strands – some will break up.

Place the chicken in a bowl and lightly coat in the fish sauce. Add the flour and toss to coat, then place in a sieve and shake to remove excess flour.

Heat the oil until 180°C. When hot, add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook until lightly golden (about 2 minutes). Remove with tongs and drain well on paper towel.

Spread the mayonnaise over all of the bread slices. Divide the chicken over half of the slices, sprinkle over the spice, top with the cabbage, sandwich with the tops and cut in half. Eat immediately.

Note

• Tapioca flour is available from major supermarkets in the baking aisle, and also Asian grocers. It is a gluten-free flour, which creates a crunchy exterior around ingredients for frying. You can buy coarse or fine tapioca - both will work in this recipe.

• Cover the bread with a damp tea towel to prevent it drying out.

• Shichimi togarashi spice is available from Japanese grocers. You can substitute sweet paprika.

Be inspired by more grain-based recipes here, thanks to Tip Top 9 Grain®.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.