Recipe: Edward's Cornflake Chicken with Twilight Sauce.

Did anyone catch last week’s episode of The Office? Besides the arrival of baby Halpert, my favorite part of the whole show was the lunch bonding between Pam and Kevin. When Kevin mentioned his latest food project was cooking his way through the Twilight Cookbook, I was caught completely off guard. So brilliant. Then he said, “Last night, I made Edward’s Cornflake Chicken.”

My giggling overpowered the rest of the dialogue, and my poor husband had to rewind the show at least three times to catch the missed minutes. Yes, it took me that long to contain myself. The concept was so funny (a recipe based on Edward Cullens? A cookbook for Twilight?) that as soon as I stopped laughing, I found myself brainstorming. Hmm . . . how could I create this fictional recipe?

“Brendan,” I said nudging my husband.

“What?” he replied, hitting pause on the DVR again.

“I’m going to totally make this recipe.”

“Oh geez,” was my husband’s unenthusiastic response. 

All week I have been thinking of how to make chicken with cornflakes. I don’t think I’ve bought a box of cornflakes in well, years. I know they are popular in things like casseroles, but I didn’t want to go that route. After some thought processing and conceptualizing with my sister (“You need sparkles,” she suggested), I came up with with the most . . . (ahem, here come the Twilight puns) tempting recipe. 

It’s a variation on a Japanese Chicken Katsu dish with a tangy chipotle sauce (or, if I want to stick with the theme, Twilight Sauce.) The chicken is pounded flat, like how you would make it if you were making cutlet for katzu, and coated with layers of cornstarch, egg, and instead of panko bread crumbs, crushed cornflakes.

After it’s fried golden (yes, golden), the cornflake chicken is topped with a sprinkling of sea salt for um . . . sparkles.

I know the recipe is sounding waaay cheesy, but it actually tastes great. Something even non-Stephenie Meyer fans will want to sink their teeth into. The heat from the minced chipotles gives the sauce bite, and the cornflake layer is crunchy and crisp. Am I totally embarrassing myself by admitting my love of all things Twilight?

Here is my recipe based on a vampire (and The Office! don’t forget Kevin!). I hope it’s something all the fans will enjoy.

Edward’s Cornflake Chicken
 serves 4

 Twilight Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 canned chipotle pepper, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon water

chicken:

3 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 large eggs
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
sea salt
canola oil, for frying

Making the sauce:

In a bowl, mix the mustard powder with the water until dissolved. Add ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce and the minced chipotle. Whisk together and set aside.

Next, pound the chicken till it’s about 1/2 inch thick and cut into four pieces.

For the batter, first crush the cornflakes. I used a mortar and pestle, but you can try any method. Place them in a plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin. Have your friend Jacob smash them with his fist. Whatever works.

In three separate dishes (I use pie pans) place cornstarch in one, beaten eggs in another, and the crushed cornflakes in the last container. Add one teaspoon of salt to the cornstarch and the remaining teaspoon the the cornflakes.

Now it’s time for the assembly line. Coat the chicken pieces first with the cornstarch,  next with the egg mixture and then with the cornflakes. Place the battered chicken on a baking sheet.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a pan on medium heat. When hot, place chicken in the oil and fry for about one minute on each side, or until done. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with sauce. Enjoy!