la verdad de la milanesa

Ever since I´ve started blogging, I noticed I was more aware of the food I was cooking and wanted to try new things all the time. Somehow, the stuff I considered normal or everyday food didn´t cut it, it had to be something quite new and, if possible, adventurous.
Thing is, even though I love that aspect of blogging because it even made me revisit beets (more on that later), I still find much joy in what to me is comfort food at its best.
It´s those timeless classics that taste of childhood and just feel right every single time.
In Argentina, what we call "milanesa" would be at the top of the list of classics. Basically, it´s breaded meat, be it veal, the classic, vegetables or chicken.
La "milanesa a la napolitana" is THE classic, especially with French fries as a side dish.
Milanesas are sold in sandwhiches at our typical "kioskos", which is like a candy store-grocery store type of place found at pretty much every single street in Buenos Aires.
Yesterday, I was yet again struggling to meet a deadline at work and my stress level was quite high (for me at least, I´m usually quite calm about life and all that comes along with it, but sometimes it does get on my nerves). I recalled I had a nice piece of chicken in the fridge and that I had been meaning to repeat a bit of an invention I had done with the typical milanesa a few weeks ago.
Instead of using the typical breadcrumbs, I used my newly-discovered and much-loved panko and dried potato flakes (the stuff you use to make instant mashed potatoes). I got the idea of using the potato flakes from the Surreal Gourmet, but I figured using panko as well would be an interesting mix. Besides, here in Argentina, panko is only found at Asian markets and quite expensive, so mixing it up with the potato flakes also made sense for a stingy girl like myself lol
Ok,so, back to the "recipe", for the egg mix, I went along the Asian route again and added ground ginger, curry, red pepper flakes and rosemary (ok, that last bit was Italian... well, you know, I´m doing "fusion cooking" hahaha). I added a bit of milk to the eggs as usual (though some people advice using a bit of soda water as well, and I have to say, that also gives a nice crust). I did the egg mix-crumbs step twice to end up with a nice thick crust.
What is lovely about this crust, besides the crunchiness, is that it helps keep the moisture in the meat, so you get a terrific contrast of textures. I cooked my milanesas in a skillet with a bit of the curry-ginger oil I did a while back.
So there you have it, more of a tip or an idea than a recipe this time, but trust me on this one and try it out, your stomach will thank you!