# Chicken Kiev and Chicken Egg Rolls



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 5, 2004)

Two from my self-published cookbook - "You Can Be a Great Cook With Poultry" Author - Bob Flowers

*Fried Boneless Chicken Breast with Herb Butter, or, Chicken Kiev*

	There are several versions of Chicken Kiev, each with its own herbed butter variant.  All use the same basic technique for creating this classic Russian recipe.  What is important in this dish is to balance the herbs and/or spices, and to seal the butter in the chicken roll.
	We will use the fry and bake cooking methods to produce tender and juicy chicken in this recipe.
Ingredients:
6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
12 tbs. Butter 
Salt
2 cups fresh Bread Crumbs
1 large egg
¼ cup Milk
1 cup Flour
2 cups Sunflower oil
½ tsp. Sage
¼ tsp. Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Chopped Parsley
½ tsp. Finely ground Black Pepper
	Combine the egg and milk until a smooth egg-wash is formed.  Pound the chicken breasts with a flat mallet until about ¼ inch thick.  Dry the meat with paper towels.  Sprinkle them lightly with salt.  
	Combine the butter and herbs.  Place 2 tsp. of the butter mixture onto each breast and roll the meat into a tube.  Take care to seal the ends by pinching together.
Dip in the egg-wash, and then in the flour. Dip again in the egg-wash and then in the breadcrumbs. Let dry on a cooling rack for about five minutes.
	Preheat the oil in a hot frying pan until fragrant.  At the same time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Gently place the breaded chicken rolls into the hot oil and cook on each side until lightly browned.  Transfer to a rectangular cake pan and bake for an additional twenty minutes.  Serve with brown or wild rice, or with whole grain pasta, and a green veggie.


*Chicken Egg Rolls*
Well start with something almost everybody knows and loves; Egg rolls.  Such an incredible flavor.  And yet, many people dont like them due to the soggy, often mushy cabbage found in the commercially prepared varieties.  The egg rolls you will make from this recipe are crispy and filled with flavors and textures sure to please the most discriminating palate.  They feature the goodness of oriental vegetables, stir fried into a delicious filling (hint: Though this is a chicken recipe, you can change the meat to beef, pork, duck, lamb, shrimp, scallops, etc.  They all work equally well with the veggies).
We had a neighbor who seemed to have a sixth sense where egg rolls were concerned.  We never knew how she knew, but whenever I whipped up a batch of egg rolls, Lou (short for Louise) would show up at our doorstep.	 Now mind you, she wasnt a mooch by nature.  But she couldnt resist these little beauties.
This recipe takes time.  It works best when multiple people work on it.  You can throw an Egg Roll party where you invite your friends and/or family to participate in the production.  Youll be amazed at how many people will take you up on the offer.  And youll be the head chef of course.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. cut up frying chicken 
1/4 cup sliced and halved water chestnuts
1/4 cup coarsely chopped bamboo shoots
1/4 cup diced onion
2 stalks celery, sliced
 green pepper, chopped (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Ground ginger
2 tbs. Soy sauce
scant dash of Chinese 5 spice powder
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 package egg roll skins
1 cup peanut oil + 2 tbs.
Skin and bone the chicken.  Place the skin and bones in two cups of boiling water and cover.  Turn heat down to simmer.  	While the chicken skins and bones are cooking, finely dice the chicken meat into 1/4 inch pieces. 
Heat 2 tbs. of the peanut oil in a steel wok, or large heavy skillet (I prefer seasoned cast iron if Im not using my wok).  Add the chicken and half of the salt.  Cover with a lid and cook for about seven minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove the cooked chicken to a large bowl (very large) and pour any juices from the pan into the boiling chicken stock.
Return the wok to the stove and reheat.  Add the onion, garlic, peppers, bok choy, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots.  Stir fry on highest heat setting for five minutes without lid.  Remove the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken.  Add the spices and soy sauce to the bowl and mix well.
Place the bean sprouts into the wok and cover.  Add  cup water to the wok.  Cook for seven to ten minutes until the bean sprouts turn white and loose there translucent quality.  Add to the meat and vegetable mixture and toss thoroughly.  Place bowl where you can easily reach into it and let cool for ten minutes.
Remove the skin and bones from the broth and discard.  Add water to make two cups of broth.  Use the broth as the basic stock for pineapple sweet and sour sauce.
*
Frying egg rolls is best done with an assistant, or partner.  As the egg rolls are made, they should be immediately placed in hot oil.  As the uncooked egg rolls sit, the water and vegetable fluids will cause the skins to become gooey and hard to work with.  Working with a partner will also reduce the work load and total cooking time.
Put a finger bowl filled with water within easy reach.  Place an egg roll skin onto a clean dry surface.  Put one tbs. Of the chicken mixture onto the egg roll skin center.  Dip your fingers into the water and use them to wet all four edges of the egg roll skin.  Fold two opposite sides toward the center until they just begin to cover the filling.  Grasp one of the unfolded edges and place over the filling.  Continue rolling into a complete cylinder.  Set aside.  Make as many egg rolls as you desire.  Experiment with the amount of filling you add.  Deep fry in hot peanut oil immediately until lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.  Serve with pineapple sweet and sour sauce and mustard sauce, and with fried or steamed brown rice.
Oh, one more thing about egg roll skins.  You can wrap cheese and meat in them, place them in a covered casserole dish, pour your favorite tomato based sauce over top, and cook them in the oven, like manicotti.  Yum.  But that's in another one of my books.

Hope you like them.

Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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