Chef Katsuji Tanabe Makes Chicken Torta | Video

Marrying influences from his family’s heritage, chef Katsuji Tanabe turns out inspired Mexican fare with a hint of Japanese style at his restaurant a’Verde in Cary, North Carolina. His chicken milanesa torta recipe, a customer favorite, perfectly exemplifies this: Japanese-style chicken tonkatsu meets a Mexican torta in Tanabe’s epic sandwich. With a butterflied and breaded chicken thigh, toasted telera bread roll, creamy refried beans, and lots of acid and spice from Roma tomatoes and onions, you can re-create this a’Verde best seller.

Tanabe gets telera bread from his local Mexican supermarket. If you have trouble finding it locally, you can substitute a hoagie roll. Much of the torta recipe’s appeal comes from the sandwich’s height. That said, you won’t need to use all of the ingredients to their entirety. Trust your judgement on how much beans, tomatoes, onion, peppers, and avocado you want filling the sandwich.

Finally, serve the chicken milanesa torta with a side of Tanabe’s guacamole to round out the meal.