I was recently taking a look at a Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe and I wondered how I could make a Japanese version of a rolled chicken. This left me perplexed until I came across a recipe on a Japanese cooking website titled “Tosuta de torimune ume shiso mushi roll.” Translated: “Steamed Ume Shiso Chicken breast roll with a Toaster.” I altered it slightly by omitting green onions and I used an oven instead of a toaster oven. I think it turned out pretty good and it was easy. I’d give it a 2 on a difficulty scale of 1-5.
The other thing I like about this dish is that chicken rolls are pretty and they make for a great presentation. Surprisingly it also helps with portion control. These days it seems like eating is all about portion control. Somehow I feel content eating 2-3 slices, which ends up being only half a chicken breast. Whereas if I ate a flat chicken breast, I could easily eat the whole thing and probably still want more. Maybe it’s so pretty that I’m eating with my eyes first. I have no idea but it works.
If you’re not so sure how you feel about umeboshi, try this dish because the chicken tones down the sourness and it goes really well with rice. The leftovers are also great for bento okazu (side dish).
Ingredients (4 Servings)
2 Chicken breasts
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (1 tbsp for each breast)
12 (approx.) shiso leaves (6 for each breast) depending on the size of the shiso leaves and the size of your chicken breast.
2-4 large umeboshi (1-2 for each breast)
2 teaspoons of sake (1 for each breast)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Directions
1) Butterfly the chicken breast and leave it once piece.
2) Lay plastic wrap over the chicken and use the flat end of a meat tenderizer or the surikogi (wooden pestle) to flatten out the chicken so that it’s 1/4 inch thick.
3) Season both sides with salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
4) Brush the mayonnaise on the inside of the breast.
5) Cover it with shiso leaves.
6) Remove the umeboshi seed and cut it in strips. Lay it in a line along one of the short ends of the chicken.
7) Roll up the chicken, starting at from the umeboshi side.
8) Sprinkle the sake on top and let it rest for a few minutes.
9) Grease a pan with olive oil and lay the chicken inside.
10) Over with foil and put in a preheated oven at 350 F for 25 minutes.
11) Take out of the oven and leave covered for 15 minutes.
12) Slice and serve with bottled ponzu or mix 2 parts soy sauce with 1 part vinegar and eat with rice.
Butterfly the chicken breast and don’t do it like this. Lay it flat and cut across. I blame myself for this photo.
Lay plastic wrap over the chicken and use the flat end of a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin to thin it out to about 1/4 inch thick.
After pounding it out, season with salt and pepper. (Coarse ground pepper is better)
Brush mayonnaise on the inside that you sliced with the knife.
Lay the shiso on top.
Remove the seed and cut the umeboshi into strips.
Line the umeboshi along one side end of the chicken.
Start rolling from the umeboshi side.
Sprinkle the top with sake.
Lay in a pan greased with olive oil or cooking spray.
Cover with foil and put in oven for 25 minutes.
Slice it and serve with ponzu (vinegary soy sauce)
Serve with Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Shiso Salad, Daikon and Age Miso Soup and Rice.
Naomi Kuwabara was born and raised in California but spent many summers in Japan growing up. She has spent time living in Hokkaido and Osaka, both meccas for Japanese cuisine. Her passion is cooking and sharing her experiences cooking Japanese food with others. Her blog Umamitopia is about her experiences cooking Japanese food. Her greatest inspirations are from her mother and grandmother. Her cooking adventures can be found at http://umamitopia.com.
