How do I make the panko bread stick to my egg-coated chicken?

Question

I am trying to do a pan-fried schnitzel with chicken breast coated in a mix of eggs, salt, pepper, some ketchup, a bit of olive-oil and sweet paprika.

Once I coat the chicken in the egg mix, I try to cover it with panko bread, but for some reason it doesn't stick and leaves tiny holes once it's pan-fried.

Some say I should coat the chicken with flour prior to the egg, but I'm not convinced that would do the trick.

Someone care to explain what to do?

Answer

Panko won't stick to chicken (too dry), but will stick to egg. Egg won't stick to chicken (too smooth and non-absorbant), but will stick to flour. Flour will stick to chicken. Dredge first through flour, then through (well beaten) egg, then through panko. It's a tricky combination, but if you do it right the results are excellent. Any dry spices you want to put in can go in the flour. While I don't know for sure, I would certainly wouldn't include any oils in the coating, as none of flour/egg/panko will stick to oils.

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