Though this recipe is for steak, you can simply substitute boneless skinless chicken breast to make the Chicken Fried Chicken.
Various recipes I've read call for making a creamy milk gravy after the meat/fowl has been fried, using the crud left in the oily skillet after frying. I think it is much easier and more tasty to use either a 14 ounce can of beef broth or chicken broth, heat it on very low heat in a small saucepan until the volume is reduced to about 7 ounces, then mix two teaspoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of milk or water, then add it to the broth while stirring. Increase the temperature to medium and keep stirring until a gravy is formed.
Have fun ... And consider serving this meal with coleslaw and either buttered noodles or french fries, along with some applesauce. Note that the hot cooking oil used for the meat/fowl can be used once the meat/fowl is fried to make the french fries. This can be done rather quickly, especially if you have sometime earlier used the Food Nirvana recipe to make the fries and then stored some of them frozen after the initial frying. A tossed salad is a nice substitute for the coleslaw.
Ingredients:
1 pound piece of 1/2" thick (or thicker) lean sirloin or round steak
1 egg
1/8 cup of water
1 cup of flour for dredging
1/2 cup of cornstarch for dredging
2 cups (or slightly more) of corn, soybean or canola cooking oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
Directions:
Cut the meat into four roughly equal pieces. If the meat as purchased is too thick, like 3/4" to 1" thick, then cut each piece in half carefully to produce two thinner pieces.
Cut away and discard any fat on the meat, then pound each piece on both sides using a kitchen mallet and a cutting board to a final thickness of 1/4 inch.
Beat the egg with a whisk in a shallow bowl, add the water and whisk until well blended and set the mixture aside.
Mix together the salt and black pepper and sprinkle it on both sides of beef pieces. Rub it in.
Put the flour in a pie pan or wide shallow bowl pan.
Put the cornstarch in a pie pan or wide shallow bowl.
Dredge each piece of beef in the cornstarch, gently shaking off any excess cornstarch.
Dip each cornstarch coated piece of beef into the egg/water mixture, and then dredge it in the flour, gently shaking off any excess flour.
Set the dredged pieces of meat aside on a large plate, not touching each other.
Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
The oil should be a little less than 1/2 inch deep in the skillet. Adjust the amount of oil if necessary.
Check the oil temperature once a minute with an instant read thermometer. The oil is ready to use when the temperature is 325 degrees F.
Carefully place each piece of meat into the hot oil using tongs or a large meat fork. Protect yourself (and your kitchen) from the popping grease that may result by using a screen cover on the skillet.
Increase the heat to high.
Fry the meat pieces on each side for three to four minutes, turning once. They should be light golden brown in color.
If necessary, fry them for an additional minute on both sides.
Drain the the fried meat pieces on a paper towel.
Serve hot.