Air Fryer Togarashi Chicken with Sesame Cucumber Relish

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut lengthwise, into thin cutlets

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs (can sub pork panko)

2 tablespoon Shichimi Togarashi (recipe below if needed)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

olive oil spray

Serving Sauce Options- soy sauce, chili crisp, sriracha, sichuan chili oil, zhong sauce, BBQ sauce (if feeling a katsu vibe), spicy mayo

Sesame Cucumber Relish:

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ teaspoon grated ginger

1 garlic clove, grated or finely minced

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 large English cucumber, seeded and diced

3 tablespoons minced red onion

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Shichimi Togarashi (if none on hand):

1 tablespoon red chili flakes (can use mix of flat iron asian reds, flat iron sweet peppers, & aleppo pepper flakes)

1/2 tablespoon dried orange peel

1 teaspoons white sesame seeds

1 teaspoons black sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon sichuan peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds

1/4 sheet quality toasted nori , crumbled (about 1 tbsp)

Directions

Spice Blend

In a dry skillet, lightly toast the white and black sesame seeds, sichuan peppercorns and poppy seeds until fragrant, being careful not to burn them. Transfer to a bowl and let them cool completely.

Place all of the ingredients along with the nori in a mortar and pestle and grind up

Store in an airtight jar. For optimal flavor use within a few weeks.

Chicken

Preheat air fryer to 400F degrees.

Season chicken cutlets with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Place flour on a shallow plate and egg in a medium bowl. Place panko, Togarashi, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper and sesame seeds on another shallow plate. Dredge each cutlet lightly in flour, then egg (shaking off excess), then panko mixture.

Place on a sheet pan covered in parchment. Spray cutlets lightly with olive oil and bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.

Top each cutlet with about 1/2 cup cucumber relish and sauce of your choice

Cucumber

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and salt. Add cucumber, onion and sesame seeds and stir. Set aside to allow flavors to combine.

Notes

Serve over rice

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cutlet, 1/2 cup relish
• Calories: 278 kcal
• Total Fat: 8 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.5 g
• Cholesterol: 119 mg
• Sodium: 568 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 21 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
• Total Sugars: 4 g
• Protein: 29 g