How to make a classic chicken fillet roll at home with a few special tweaks

Add a freshly-made slaw to amp up this Irish street food classic

Colm O'Gorman's Chicken Fillet Roll

As regular readers will know, I am a big fan of street food. 

Recently, I was thinking about what might constitute distinctly Irish street food; that is dishes that originated here as opposed to street food from other countries that is served in Ireland. 

One obvious dish is the Spice Bag, a uniquely Irish dish inspired by Chinese cuisine. I shared my own Spice Bag recipe in this column a few years ago, you will find that on ieFood if you fancy giving it a go.

The other example that sprang immediately to mind is the Chicken Fillet Roll, a hot chicken sandwich that is available in every village, town and city across Ireland.

My recipe offers a few tweaks that I think really amp up the deliciousness of the classic Chicken Fillet Roll. 

I marinate the chicken in freshly grated garlic and ginger and a little rice wine or sherry, and then coat it in panko breadcrumbs spiced with red pepper flakes, black pepper and sea salt. 

Regular chilli flakes are a decent substitute for the red pepper flakes if you cannot get hold of any. The chicken fillets are then cooked to perfection in an air fryer which ensures tender, delicious chicken breast, coated in a golden, crispy crumb.

Served in fresh, crusty baguettes, with a coleslaw of white cabbage, carrot and apple, tossed in mayonnaise and English mustard, atop slices of vintage Irish red cheddar, these are a bit special.

If you can get hold of some, use Kewpie mayonnaise to make the slaw and to finish your roll. This fabulous Japanese mayo is made using egg yolks and rice vinegar. It is a bit special. 

You will find it in any Asian supermarket, where you will also find Panko breadcrumbs and red pepper flakes. It can increasingly be found locally, I snagged a few bottles in the middle aisle of my local Aldi a few weeks ago.

Irish Chicken Fillet Roll

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

My recipe offers a few tweaks that I think really amp up the deliciousness of the classic Chicken Fillet Roll.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 400g chicken breast mini fillets

• 2 plump cloves of garlic

• 2-3cm fresh ginger root

• 2 tbsp rice wine or sherry

• 1 large egg

• 75g plain flour

• 100g panko dried breadcrumbs

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

• ½ tsp ground black pepper

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• 4 fresh demi-baguettes

• Vintage Irish red cheddar cheese

• Chopped spring onions

• Coleslaw:

• ¼ head of white cabbage

• 175g carrots

• 1 apple

• 2-3 tbsp good quality mayonnaise

• 1-2 tsp English mustard

Method

1. Peel and grate the ginger and garlic and pop them into a bowl big enough to marinade the chicken. Add the chicken, rice wine or sherry and stir well to combine. Set aside to marinate for 20-30 minutes.

2. When the chicken has marinated, crack the egg into a bowl and whisk it lightly. Put the flour in a second bowl, and combine the panko breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper and sea salt in a third. Use wide bowls such as pasta bowls for the flour and the breadcrumbs. Line the three bowls up on your countertop, with a plate at the end.

3. Working one piece of chicken at a time, toss them first in the flour, coating well and shaking off any excess. Next, dip the chicken in the egg, again coating it thoroughly. Finally toss it in the breadcrumbs, gently pressing in the breadcrumbs to ensure the chicken is evenly coated. Place the breaded chicken pieces on the plate as you go. When they are all prepared, spray each on both sides with just a little olive or grapeseed oil.

4. Pop the chicken into the basket of your air fryer, arranging the pieces in a single layer, taking care not to crowd the basket so that they cook evenly. Air fry at 190 Celsius for six minutes, then turn them over and give them a light spray with more oil and cook for another six minutes until the chicken is crisp and golden.

5. You can also cook the chicken in an oven if you do not have an air fryer. Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius and place the chicken on a nonstick oven tray. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through, until the fillets are golden and crisp. If you have a probe meat thermometer, use that to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Once it is at 74 Celsius, it is done.

6. While the chicken is cooking, make the slaw.

7. Finely shred the cabbage. I use my Japanese mandolin to do this, as it is quick and convenient, but if you do not have a mandolin, you can use a knife instead. Simply remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and cut off a quarter. Cut away the core and lay the quarter cabbage on its flat side on a chopping board and cut it into thin strips using a very sharp knife. Try to cut as finely as possible to give your slaw the perfect texture.

8. Wash and grate the carrots. A food processor will make light work of this, but it takes just a few minutes using the coarse side of a box grater and saves on the washing up. Wash and grate the apple using the same side of your grater. Simply grate the apple, skin and all, down to the core, then turn and repeat until you have grated away all the flesh. Pop the prepared cabbage, carrot and apple into a big bowl along with all the other ingredients for your coleslaw. Toss to combine and taste. Add more mayonnaise and/or mustard if required.

9. Warm the baguettes in your oven, a few minutes at 160 Celsius will crisp them up beautifully.

10. By now, your chicken should be ready, and you can begin to assemble the rolls. Slice the baguettes down the centre lengthways. Open them out a little and spread some mayonnaise or butter on each. Add a layer of sliced red cheddar to each baguette and top that off with lots of the coleslaw. Pop the chicken fillets on top of the coleslaw, and drizzle with a little mayonnaise and some chopped spring onion. Cut each baguette in two and serve right away with some homemade potato wedges or any other side you fancy.