This Valentina Chicken Sandwich is bold, there is no question about it. The Valentina sauce adds a delicious kick to the chicken but doesn't make it overly hot, just very tasty instead. The slaw brings freshness and creaminess to the sandwich and makes it nicely balanced in every bite. We think of this as a delicious Mexican twist to the classic Buffalo Chicken sandwich.
Chicken Sandwich
-2 Chicken pieces. We used breasts but any part can be used.
-¼ cup Valentina sauce *Check Notes
-1/2 cup regular milk
-1 Tbsp paprika
-1 Tbsp garlic powder
-1 Tbsp onion powder
-1 tsp oregano
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp salt
1 Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken pieces making sure they are well coated and submerged if possible. Cover with plastic film and marinate for at least 2 hours.
Flour Mix
-2 cups flour
-1 Tbsp paprika
-1 Tbsp garlic powder
-1 Tbsp salt
1 Mix all ingredients and set aside.
Valentina Dipping Sauce
-2 Tbsp Creme fraiche
-1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
-1 Tbsp Valentina Sauce
1 Mix all the ingredients and adjust to taste.
Easy slaw
-1 cup white cabbage finely diced
-5 sprigs of coriander finely chopped
-¼ red onion finely diced
-2 tbsp Pickled Jalapeños La Costeña finely diced
-1 tbsp creme fraiche
-1 tbsp mayonnaise
-1 tbsp Pickled Jalapenos La Costeña brine
-Fresh lemon juice
-Salt & pepper
1 In a bowl, mix the creme fraiche, mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño juice and season with salt and pepper. Add a few drops of lemon juice to taste.
2 Add the cabbage, coriander, onion and jalapeños and mix well
Fried Chicken
-Frying oil
1 In a deep pan, add as much oil as you need for the chicken pieces to be covered. Bring the heat to medium-high until ready to fry. The ideal deep-frying temperature should be between 350 and 375 C
2 Add the marinated chicken pieces to the flour mix and coat well. Return the chicken pieces to the liquid marinade and again to the flour. This will create a lovely, crispy layer in the chicken. Once the chicken pieces have been double coated with the marinade and flour mix, very carefully lay them into the oil. Cooking time will depend on how thick the chicken pieces are. The ideal temperature for chicken breast will be 175 C.
3 Flip the chicken pieces once they are nice and golden-brown so they are evenly cooked.
4 Remove the chicken from the oil onto a wire rack to drain any excess oil.
5 Sprinkle some sea salt on top of the chicken while it is hot.
To Serve
-Brioche buns
-Mayonnaise
-Easy Slaw
-Valentina Dipping Sauce
1 Lightly toast the brioche buns and add a good amount of mayonnaise to the bottom bun.
2 Place the fried chicken on top and add a good amount of easy slaw.
3 You can also drizzle the chicken with the Valentina dipping sauce for an added kick.
Notes: The suggested seasoning for the marinade yields very mild heat. If you like bold flavours as we do, we strongly suggest adding more Valentina sauce and paprika to the mix. You can also brush the chicken with extra Valentina for an added kick or have some of it on the side to dip your chicken sandwich in.
Fun Facts:
-Valentina sauce is a staple in Mexico. Used mainly as a sauce that goes with snacks and always present in people’s homes. The chilli used to make Valentina is called Puya and runs from 5000 to 8000 Scoville Heat Units which means that it is hot but not crazy hot.
-Did you know that there is an extra hot version of Valentina sauce? You can use that one instead if you like hotter sauces! You can find it here. Contrary to the regular Valentina sauce, this extra hot version is made with de Arbol chillies instead of puya and they rank between 15,000 to 30,000 Scoville Heat Units.
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