Chicken Kyiv is a juicy, buttery and crunchy dish hailing from Eastern Europe. These days, when the world is holding their breath due to the war in Ukraine, it’s important to show support in every possible way. Cooking national dishes is one way of showing your support for Ukraine.
Oh guys… I was hoping that people could learn from their mistakes and history would never repeat itself. How naïve I was. Seeing what’s going on in Eastern Europe, just a couple of hundred kilometres from Lithuania, it really is heart-breaking and overwhelming.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has no meaning at all – it’s completely pointless. We’re just counting more and more innocent people losing their lives due to one idiot who wants to put his name in history books.
So many people have been forced to leave their country and probably won’t be able to come home for many years. All because one person decided that he’s above everything. Buildings, cities and irreplaceable culture are all being destroyed because… well again… because of the decision made by one person.
It’s more than a month into this nightmare now. Coming from a Post-Soviet Union country, I hate to imagine what Ukrainians are living through right now. Hands down, this nation has shown unbelievable heroism and courage, and these characteristics can never be taken-away from them.
Ukraine National Dish – Chicken Kyiv
I have never visited Ukraine and I really regret this now. I know this country has gorgeous cities and amazing natural landscapes. I said that I’d visit this country very soon though, because I must try my favourite dish in the entire world – Chicken Kyiv, in Kyiv.
It might sound like I’m saying this due to the war in Ukraine, but I really adore this meal. It became a joke in my family, because every time I was home, I’d ask mum to go to the local restaurant and order Chicken Kyiv.
Chicken Kyiv is the crème de la crème of chicken dishes. Lovely, garlicy, buttery filling perfectly melts together with juicy chicken breast and a crusty exterior. I don’t think you can get better than this.
Chicken Kyiv Recipe Tips
This recipe isn’t complicated at all, so don’t overthink it. I would still like to share a couple of tips and tricks with you however, so you’ll nail this recipe on the first try:
- Chicken breast is the mandatory part of the recipe. Unfortunately, you can’t swap it for thighs or any other type of meat.
- Pounding – use a rolling pin to pound the chicken breast. This will help you mould the chicken into Kyivs.
- Breadcrumbs – if you don’t have breadcrumbs in your cupboard, it’s not an issue. Just add a slice of bread to a food processor and blitz until you get a breadcrumb texture. This is what I did and to be honest, it also helped deliver more flavour.
- Freezing – to have melted butter in the middle of the chicken, don’t skip this part. You can prepare the chicken the night before and cook it the following day. This way you’ll guarantee juicy chicken and buttery filling.
- Cooking – the real Chicken Kyiv is fried in a pot full of oil. However you can choose different options; fry it in a pan with olive oil or bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
If you would like to help Ukraine please visit this website to find out more.
If you can’t donate – it’s not a problem, you can still help this country by spreading information, sharing news and even cooking their national dishes. Ukraine needs our support like never before and we can help this country.
Recipe
Ingredients
Butter:
160g soft butter
2 garlic cloves
A bunch of parsley
Salt
Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
4 tablespoons of flour
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 egg
½ teaspoon of lemon pepper
6 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Method
Prepare butter filling:
- Crush the garlic cloves and finely chop the parsley.
- Add the ingredients into soft butter and season to your liking. Mix everything together.
- Form four rectangles (all the same size) and wrap them in cling film.
- Freeze the formed butter for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare chicken:
- Cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise.
- Pound the chicken breast to 5mm thickness and add the butter in the middle. Tightly roll up the chicken without any exposed butter parts.
- Tightly wrap each chicken breast in cling film and leave them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare three bowls for your crumb:
- First bowl – mix flour, garlic powder, sweet and smoked paprika
- Second bowl – lightly beat the eggs with lemon pepper, salt and pepper
- Third bowl – breadcrumbs
- Unwrap the chicken and coat it in flour, then beaten egg and lastly in breadcrumbs. Tightly squeeze the chicken with your hands, forming a cylinder.
- Preheat the frying pan with a good glug of olive oil.
- Fry the chicken Kyiv on all the sides until they get golden brown and cooked.
- Serve the dish with fresh salad and mashed potatoes.
