Chicken schnitzel with fermented chilli mayo

Method

• step 1

  Start preparing the chips five days before serving. Cut the potatoes into 2cm-thick chips. Heat 1 litre of water in a pan and add 40g of fine sea salt. Whisk until fully dissolved, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool. Put the potatoes in a sterilised jar or container, and pour over the brine so they’re completely submerged. Leave in a cool, dry place for five days, removing the lid every day to release the carbon dioxide that can build up.

• step 2

  Start preparing the chilli mayo three days before serving. Put all the ingredients except the mayo, plus 2 tsp of fine sea salt, into a blender and whizz to a fine purée. Pour into a sterilised jar or container and leave in a cool, dark place for three days, removing the lid every day to release the carbon dioxide that can build up. This will make more than you’ll need but it will keep in the fridge for a few months.

• step 3

  The night before serving, cut each chicken breast through the middle so they can be opened out like a book. Open them out, then put each one between two pieces of baking paper and use a rolling pin to bash them out to a large, even piece, about 1½cm thick. Whisk the miso with 50ml of water or just enough to make a thin paste – you want it to be able to loosely coat the chicken breasts. Tip the miso into a large bowl or container, add the chicken breasts and toss to coat. Chill overnight.

• step 4

  To cook the chips, fill a pan no more than a third full with vegetable oil and heat to 140C or until a cube of bread browns in 1 minute. Fry the chips in batches for 10 minutes per batch until cooked through and light golden. Drain and cool.

• step 5

  Turn the heat up until the oil reaches 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Again fry the chips in batches for 3-4 minutes per batch until golden and crunchy. Drain and season well with sea salt.

• step 6

  Spoon 3 tbsp of the chilli pulp from the fermented mixture (it will have separated during the fermentation process) into a blender and whizz with the mayonnaise until emulsified and thick.

• step 7

  For the chicken, blend 50g of the panko and all the togarashi in a food processor to a fine powder. Tip into a large, shallow container and mix with the remaining panko and 1 tbsp of fine sea salt. Coat each chicken breast in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing it down to coat well. Heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan with half of the sunflower oil and cook the schnitzels, one at a time, for 4-5 minutes on each side until deeply golden, adding a little more oil if needed. Keep warm in a low oven as you go.

• step 8

  Put the chicken schnitzels on plates, spoon over some of the fermented chilli mayo, and serve with the chips and some salad.