This Mexican Cemita recipe is a traditional sandwich consumed in Puebla, Mexico. It's vibrant, flavourful, and perfect for tasty lunch!
The Cemita Filling
This is genuinely a fabulous sandwich to have for lunch (hence why they eat it on a daily basis in Puebla), becuase of the lack of excess juices. It's a very tidy sandwich.
So, here are the elements you'll need to assemble this simple yet effective Mexican Cemita recipe:
- Avocado
- Chicken breast (or pork steak)
- Oaxaca cheese (if you can't find this type of cheese, Mozzarella is a texturally similar substitute)
- Red onions
- Coriander/cilantro
- Chipotle chillies (once again, if you can't find any rehydrated chipotle chillies, feel free to use adobo or jalapeño chillies as a substitute).
- Sesame bread roll
FUN FACT: you may know this, you may not! Chipotle chillies are smoked and dried versions of jalapeño chillies.
How To Prepare Your Meat
The choice is yours, chicken, beef, or pork! Simply purchase whichever tickles your fancy.
For this recipe, I chose chicken breast. You want to slice the breast in half to shape it into a butterfy. Splitting the chicken breast horizontally and opening it like a book (aka butterflying), allows you to then easily pound the meat to an even thickness. Cover the chicken with cling film and gently pound it evently to thin it out. You want a thickness of just under 1 cm.
Get yourself three plates, one with flour, one with breadcrumbs, one with one cracked egg whisked up on it. Dab your chicken breast into the flour, transfer over to the eggs, and then over to the breadcrumbs, evenly covering both sides.
Grab a frying pan and pour in 1 inch of vegetable oil. Place it on medium heat and when the oil is hot (to check this, touch the bottom of the frying pan with a chopstick, and if bubbles form around the chopstick, then you're ready to go!), gently place your coated chicken breast into the pan. Leave to fry for 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove and drain on some kitchen paper.
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Not all my dumpling recipes are up on my website, yet! So, if you’d like to check them out, head on over to my Instagram for the video tutorial and full recipe!
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Mexican Cemita Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 sesame seed bun
- ½ avocado, peeled and sliced
- 1 ball of oaxaca or mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ red onion, sliced into circular rings
- A handful of coriander, chopped
- ½ tablespoon rehydrated chipotle chilles or jalapeños
Fried Chicken
- 1 chicken breast, sliced open into a butterfly
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Begin by slicing your chicken breast into a butterfly (split the chicken breast horizontally and open it like a book). This will allow you to easily pound the meat to an even thickness.
- Prepare three plates, one with your flour, one with your whisked egg, and one with your breadcrumbs.
- Place the chicken breast into the flour and coat on both sides (this helps the egg stick to the chicken). Transfer the chicken over to the egg, coat both sides, and then finally over to the breadcrumb plate. Make sure that both sides of the chicken breast are evenly coated with breadcrumbs.
- Grab yourself a frying pan and fill it with an inch of vegetable oil. Place it on medium heat and after about 3 minutes, the oil should be hot enough for your chicken. Top Tip - to check if the oil is ready, touch the bottom of the pan with a chopstick, if bubbles begin to rise up around the chopstick, then the oil is ready to go!
- Gently slide your chicken into the oil and fry on each side for 4 minutes or until golden. Remove and place on a piece of kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
- Slice your sesame bun in half horizontally and then toast it to your liking.
- Prepare your other ingredients including your avocado, cheese, red onions, cilantro, and chillies.
- Once everything is ready to go, begin assembling your Mexican Cemita. Place down the bottom half of your roll and layer with avocado, then your fried chicken, then cheese, red onion, coriander, chillies, and lastly, the upper half of your bun! Serve up and enjoy!
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