Coronation Chicken Sandwiches

J is somehow into Coronation Chicken recently. Some weeks ago he asked me to make Coronation Chicken sandwich. I had known about the classic cold curried chicken salad, but never made it by myself. Actually I didn't remember if I had ever eaten it before. Based on a recipe from the Guardians "How to cook perfect Coronation Chicken," I created my own version. Mine used chicken breast, had much less mayo/Greek yogurt and skipped apricot. It was interesting to know mango chutney played an important role in Coronation Chicken. Maybe this was the first time to welcome mango chutney in the refrigerator. As the recipe suggested, I bought Geeta's. The result was pretty good. J liked it very much! 

Coronation Chicken was known to be invented by both renowned florist Constance Spry and the founder of the famous Le Cordon Bleu cookery school Rosemary Hume when they catered for a banquet lunch to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. Also, it was believed to be inspired by the ‘Jubilee Chicken’ created for George V’s silver jubilee in 1935, which mixed chicken, curry spices and mayo. It is appeared that the difference between Coronation Chicken of 1953 and Jubilee Chicken of 1953 is some spice variation. Therefore, some says that Coronation Chicken wasn't really invented. Perhaps, it may be better to think Coronation Chicken just an updated version of Jubilee Chicken. 

The progress didn't stop there. In 2002, royal chefs at Buckingham Palace created a new chicken dish for The Queen's Golden Jubilee, which the queen tasted and approved. The main flavors of the 2002 version were lime and ginger. A hint of nutmeg. No sweet elements like dried fruits or chutney. First of all, curry power wasn't called in the dish! It sounds like a bold change from Coronation Chicken. It was almost 20 years ago. I am looking forward to seeing the next British royal chicken salad's evolution.