Matcha Breadcrumb Baked Chicken

My favorite way to use up leftover stale bread (like the rest of the loaf from my Earl Grey Tea Toast) is to turn it into seasoned breadcrumbs. Using the breadcrumbs as a coating for a baked chicken breast or pork chop makes for a quick and tasty weeknight meal.

For this recipe, I marinated chicken breasts in oil, orange juice, orange zest, fresh ginger and garlic, and then dredged the breasts in a coating of flour and breadcrumbs that I seasoned with Matcha green tea powder, ground ginger and paprika.

Matcha is a very high quality Japanese green tea that’s finely ground into a powder. Matcha is whisked together with hot water to produce the celebrated beverage of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It’s is also great as a cooking ingredient; it has a fresh, earthy, bittersweet flavor that adds depth and color to many dishes both sweet and savory.

Happy cooking and sipping!

P.S. Here’s another fun tea foodie recipe using Matcha: Matcha Macaroon Trees.

by Suzanne Klein, Tea Foodie

Makes 4 chicken breasts

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

zest and juice of 1 large orange

¼ cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

½ teaspoon, plus an extra pinch, of kosher salt

¼ teaspoon, plus an extra pinch, of ground white pepper

½ cup flour

½ cup finely ground breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon Matcha green tea powder (I used Aiya brand’s cooking grade Matcha)

½ teaspoon ground ginger

cooking oil spray

Preparation:

1. In a shallow baking dish, mix together the orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, garlic, ginger, and a large pinch of both salt and white pepper. Place the chicken breasts in the dish, and turn them over a few times to coat them in the marinade mixture. Cover the dish, and marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours, in the refrigerator. Turn the chicken over in the mixture a few times while it’s marinating.

2. In another shallow baking dish, mix together the rest of the salt and white pepper with the flour, breadcrumbs, and the rest of the spices.

3. When the chicken is done marinating, dredge each piece in the seasoned flour and breadcrumb mixture so that it is well coated. Use your hands to pat the coating onto both sides of the breast. Place the coated breasts in another shallow baking dish. Carefully, and liberally, spray each side of each coated breast with cooking oil; the moistened coating will brown better in the oven.

4. Bake the chicken in a 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and evenly browned. Depending on your oven and your baking dish, you may want to turn the chicken breasts over half way through baking to ensure an even browning. You may also want to set the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes or so to get a crispy coating.