Chicken parmesan

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Chicken parmesan
Chicken parm at a diner.jpg
Chicken parmesan from an American restaurant
Alternative namesChicken parmigiana
Place of origin United States
Main ingredients Chicken breast, tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan

Chicken parmesan or chicken parmigiana (Italian : pollo alla parmigiana) is a dish that consists of breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, Parmesan or provolone. [1] Ham or bacon is sometimes added. [2] [3]

Contents

The dish originated in the Italian diaspora in the United States during the early 20th century. [1] [4] [5] [6] It has been speculated that the dish is based on a combination of the Italian parmigiana, a dish using fried eggplant slices and tomato sauce, with a cotoletta , a breaded veal cutlet generally served without sauce or cheese in Italy. [6]

Chicken parmesan is included as the base of a number of different meals, including sandwiches [7] and pies. [8] [9]

History

North America

The dish, also known as "chicken parm", [4] originated in the northeast United States from Italian immigrants, and became a popular staple in restaurants serving Italian-American cuisine by the 1950s. [4] [10] [11] [12] Home versions also grew in popularity. A recipe was published in the 1953 issue of the New York Herald Tribune that used frozen fried chicken patties or fillets along with other processed foods to make a version of the dish at home. [13] A recipe for chicken parmesan was published in The New York Times in 1962. [14]

In the United States and Canada, chicken parmesan is often served as a main course, and sometimes with a side of, or on top of, pasta. Many restaurants also offer chicken parm sandwiches. [15] Upon arriving in America, Italian immigrants began to take advantage of America's affordable meat market, incorporating chicken into parmigiana. [4] [16]

Australia

Chicken parmigiana with chips and salad, a common serving in Australia Chicken parmigiana.jpg
Chicken parmigiana with chips and salad, a common serving in Australia

Chicken parmigiana was known in Australia by the 1950s, and is often called parma, parmi or parmy in modern Australian parlance; its name varies from region to region. [17] [18] [19] It was offered in restaurants in Adelaide as early as 1953. [20] It is regularly served as a main meal throughout Australia, where it is considered a staple of pub food. [21] [22] [23] [18] In a 2019 interview that was broadcast on ABC Radio Hobart, food historian Jan O'Connell believes that chicken parmigiana did not become a pub staple until the 1980s; before that time, it was primarily served in restaurants. [24] [25]

Chicken parmigiana is typically served in Australia with a side of chips and salad, although there is some dispute as to whether the chips should be served under or next to the chicken. [26] Its popularity has led to a specialized chicken parmigiana restaurant opening in Melbourne, [26] and chicken parmigiana is the subject of reviews on dedicated websites which compare the dish as purchased from various pubs within a region. [26] [27] [28] [29]

Asian fusion cooking

In fusion cuisine, chicken parmesan has been modified to suit Asian taste preferences by the addition of a small amount of soy sauce (as a salt substitute) to the tomato-based sauce [30] [31] and sometimes served with a side of rice or stir-fried noodles. This dish is sometimes marketed in English-speaking areas as chicken katsu parmesan. [32] [33] Sometimes, the soy sauce is added instead to the egg wash for the chicken. [34]

Brazil

Since the 1930s, a dish called bife à parmegiana or filé à parmegiana has been popular in the city of São Paulo. It consists of a beef steak breaded with eggs and wheat flour, fried and covered with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese on top. A variation using chicken fillet is very popular too. [35] [ failed verification ] [36] [ failed verification ][ original research? ]

Similar dishes

Italy

Chicken pizzaiola in Venice, Italy Venezia Chicken Pizzaiola.jpg
Chicken pizzaiola in Venice, Italy

Aside from parmigiana, a dish using breaded eggplant slices instead of chicken, there are other similar dishes in Italy that use meat.

Carne pizzaiola is a dish derived from the Neapolitan tradition that features meat topped with cheese and often cooked with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and white wine. Beef is used most often but it can be made with chicken and pork as well. [37]

A similar dish using veal is known in Italian as cotoletta alla bolognese , which excludes tomato sauce but includes melted Parmesan cheese and prosciutto. [38] Costolette alla parmigiana is another similar veal dish, but in Italy it is generally served without sauce or cheese. [6]

United Kingdom

In England, parmo is a dish originating in Middlesbrough that typically consists of fried breaded chicken or pork topped with a white béchamel sauce and cheese instead of tomato sauce. Parmo originated as escalope parmesan, a derivative of chicken parmigiana. [39]

Hungary

In Hungary, a chicken or pork cutlet breaded with a mix of flour and shredded potatoes, and topped with garlic, sour cream and cheese is called mátrai borzaska (lit.'scruffy from Mátra ') or borzas for short; [40] [41] if the topping is cheese and mushrooms, it is referred to as óvári (lit.'from Óvár '). [42] [ failed verification ]

Argentina

In Argentina, a variation of milanesa a la napolitana is made with chicken instead of the usual beef, similar to chicken parmigiana. [43] It is sometimes topped with ham, bacon or a fried egg and is usually served with french fries. [44] [45] [46]

See also

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Chicken parmesan at Wikimedia Commons

Related Research Articles

<i>Tonkatsu</i> Japanese dish of deep-fried pork

Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with panko, and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu is also the basis of other dishes such as katsukarē and katsudon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken-fried steak</span> American breaded cutlet dish

Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak, is an American Southern breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is associated with the Southern cuisine of the United States. It is breaded and fried with a technique similar to the more common fried chicken, hence "chicken-fried". When deep-fried, it is usually referred to as "chicken-fried steak". Pan-fried versions are typically referred to as "country-fried steak".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schnitzel</span> Breaded, fried flat piece of meat

Schnitzel is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef, or turkey. Schnitzel originated as wiener schnitzel and is very similar to other breaded meat dishes.

<i>Milanesa</i> South American variation of an Italian dish

The milanesa is a variation of the Lombard veal Milanese, or the Austrian Wiener schnitzel, where generic types of breaded cutlet preparations are known as a milanesa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katsudon</span> Japanese rice meal

Katsudon is a popular Japanese food, a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, egg, vegetables, and condiments.

Cutlet refers to:

  1. a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork, or chicken
  2. a dish made of such slice, often breaded
  3. a croquette or cutlet-shaped patty made of ground meat
  4. a kind of fish cut where the fish is sliced perpendicular to the spine, rather than parallel ; often synonymous with steak
  5. a prawn or shrimp with its head and outer shell removed, leaving only the flesh and tail
  6. a mash of vegetables fried with bread
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parmigiana</span> Italian dish of eggplant with cheese and tomato sauce

Parmigiana, also called parmigiana di melanzane, melanzane alla parmigiana or, in the United States, eggplant parmesan, is an Italian dish made with fried, sliced eggplant layered with Parmesan cheese and tomato sauce, then baked. The origin of the dish is claimed by the regions of Campania, Sicily, and Emilia-Romagna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parmo</span> English take-away dish

Parmo, or Teesside Parmesan, is a dish originating in Middlesbrough, England, and a popular item of take-away food in the Teesside area. It consists of a breaded cutlet of chicken or pork topped with a white béchamel sauce and cheese, usually cheddar.

<i>Cotoletta</i> Italian word for a veal breaded cutlet

Cotoletta is an Italian form of breaded cutlet made from veal. The dish originated in France as the côtelette de veau frite, and was created by the chef Joseph Menon in 1735. Côtelette means 'little rib' in French, referring to the rib that remains attached to the meat during and after cooking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordon bleu (dish)</span> Meat and cheese dish

A cordon bleu or schnitzel cordon bleu is a dish of meat wrapped around cheese, then breaded and pan-fried or deep-fried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiener schnitzel</span> Viennese meat dish, breaded veal cutlet

Wiener schnitzel, sometimes spelled Wienerschnitzel, is a type of schnitzel made of a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet served with ample quantities of sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croquette</span> Small breaded, deep-fried food

A croquette is a deep-fried roll originating in the Mediterranean basin, consisting of a thick binder combined with a filling, which is then breaded. It is served as a side dish, a snack, or fast food worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breaded cutlet</span> Meat in breading or batter

Breaded cutlet or braised cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of meat with breading or batter and either frying or baking it.

Parmigiano reggiano is an Italian cheese

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fried pork</span>

Fried pork dishes are found in numerous cuisines around the world. Known for its tenderness and versatility, pork often prepared by frying for the resultant crispy and savory succulence. Below is a list of just some notable national fried pork dishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veal Milanese</span> Italian dish in Milanese Lombard cuisine

Veal Milanese, is a popular variety of cotoletta from the city of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally prepared with a veal rib chop or sirloin bone-in and made into a breaded cutlet, fried in butter. Due to its shape, it is often called oreggia d'elefant in Milanese or orecchia d'elefante in Italian, meaning 'elephant's ear'.

References

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  3. Cowie, Tom & Bibby, Grace (September 11, 2013). "To ham or not to ham when ordering a chicken parma". The Courier . Ballarat, Victoria.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Clark, Melissa (January 30, 2015). "Parmigiana Dishes to Warm Weary Souls". The New York Times . Retrieved November 17, 2016. Veal and chicken parmigiana, along with their cousins meatball, sausage and shrimp, are more recent adaptations, created by Italian immigrants in America who could afford to use meat in place of the vegetables they relied on in the Old Country.
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  8. "Parma pies on menu for Patties". The Mercury . Hobart, Tasmania. February 18, 2012. p. 31. WHAT do you get if you take the humble meat pie and the Italian chicken parmigiana and mash them together? Link (subscription required) via EBSCO
  9. Gannon, Genevieve (February 17, 2012). "Patties pins hopes on "parma" pie". Sydney Morning Herald .
  10. "Menu from Tony's Italian Kitchen". Tony's Italian Kitchen. 1955. Retrieved June 17, 2019 via New York Public Library.
  11. "Menu from Mamma Leone's". Mamma Leone's. 1958. Retrieved March 7, 2016 via New York Public Library.
  12. "Menu from Ristorante Giannino". Ristorante Giannino. Italia Società di Navigazione. August 23, 1956. Dieter Zander Collection via New York Public Library.
  13. Cannon, Poppy (February 4, 1953). "Advances in Frozen Foods Are Taking Load Off Stoves: New Louis L. Libby Line of Precooked Items Shows How Home Chefs Can Cut Labors". New York Herald Tribune . p. 12. ProQuest   1322298953. Chicken Parmigiano–Generally this method is reserved for a breaded cutlet of veal, but it's amazing how good and unusual a dish you achieve by arranging heated quick-frozen southern fried chicken on the serving dish. Top each piece with a thin slice of cheese. The Italians would use Mozzarella; Muenster is good too, and so is mild American. A sprinkle of grated Parmesan over the top adds tang. Place under a broiler or in the oven till the cheese melts and then pour around a tomato sauce made by heating Hunt's tomato sauce with one clove garlic finely crushed, one-half bay leaf, one teaspoon olive oil, one-fourth to one-half teaspoon basil, oregano or marjoram. Simmer eight to ten minutes.
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  20. "I Say". The Mail (Adelaide) . Vol. 43, no. 2, 164. South Australia. November 28, 1953. p. 55. Retrieved March 24, 2019 via National Library of Australia. They ask for steak and eggs, but change to Chicken Parmigiana when the waiter explains that it's chicken cooked in light wine and served with grated cheese
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  37. "Carne Alla Pizzaiola" (in Italian). Accademia Italiana della Cucina. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
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  40. Péter, Kancsár (October 11, 2013). "Az igazi mátrai borzaska receptje" [The recipe for the real mátrai borzaska]. www.femina.hu (in Hungarian). Hozzávalók: 8 szelet sertéskaraj vagy csirkemell [Ingredients: 8 slices of pork loin or chicken breast]
  41. Claudia, Botos (August 14, 2022). "Így készül az eredeti mátrai borzaska: megunhatatlan régi kedvenc" [This is how the original mátrai borzaska is made: an old favourite]. sobors.hu (in Hungarian). A mátrai borzaska vagy pusztapecsenye nagyon kiadós frissensült, melyet savanyúsággal vagy salátával érdemes fogyasztani. Az étel eredetileg sertéskarajból készül, de ha szeretnéd, csirke- vagy pulykahúsból is elkészítheted. [Mátra borzaska or pusztapecsenye is a very hearty fresh roast, which is worth eating with pickles or salad. The dish is originally made from pork loin, but if you like, you can also make it from chicken or turkey.]
  42. "Klasszikus óvári sertésszelet" [Classic Óvár pork cutlet] (in Hungarian). January 27, 2018.
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