this is a dish that i’ve been longing to replicate, since way back when.

somehow it has been embedded in my consciousness/awareness.
i must have seen its preparation on a Philippine TV cooking show, or my Ma might have had a little booklet from the premium butter brand at the time, Anchor. i don’t remember. whatever it was, it stuck in my brain.
chicken Kiev is not really of Russian descent according to the Wiki, but was probably so christened due to a Russian empress’ love of French cuisine. the empress in turn influenced her loyal subjects, and it is theorized that it was named Kiev by New York City cooks trying to please Russian emigres who demanded it on their menus.

a chicken paillard with a hidden “treasure”, breaded, fried, sliced, and then revealing, no, oozing its rich golden butter secret.

i cobbled together a recipe from quite a few that i searched for online and from cookbooks and magazines.

most recipes call for chicken breasts, which, if you’ve been at all plowing through my wordy posts, you will have
noticed, i don’t care for. i like skinless boneless thighs.

first step is to make a very well chilled herb butter.
soften butter until it succumbs easily to a spatula, then add chopped herbs like parsley, chives, thyme, your choice!, form into a log, wrap tightly in plastic, chill until ready;
pound each chicken thigh until very thin fillet, between two sheets of cling film, see below; set a baton in the middle of it, then enfold and wrap tightly, secured together with toothpicks (the only time i thought i should have gone with those breasts as the thighs flattened out into odd irregular shapes), dipped in turn in a bowl each of seasoned flour, beaten eggs thinned down with milk, then rolled in bread crumbs (Japanese panko will work too).

if you end up, like i did, with a tortured looking piece of meat, all riddled with bamboo skewers, just use your hands or two spoons to completely cover the chicken rolls with the respective coatings.

pan fry in a combination of mostly olive oil and a bit of butter, about a depth of one inch, over medium-high heat, until brown, around 4 minutes per side.

let rest a minute or two before slicing and serving. (i loved mine dipped in Heinz chili sauce and Franks Red Hot original!)