Twelve ingredients and forty minutes for four sandwiches. The chicken and the vegetables cook in the same skillet, one after the other.
Three colours of pepper go in — red, green and yellow — and all three are visible in the finished roll. That, and the white provolone over them, is what the sandwich looks like.
Why This Recipe Works
- Slicing the chicken thinly means it browns quickly rather than stewing in its own liquid.
- Cooking the vegetables in the same pan picks up the fond the chicken left.
- Some browned edges on the peppers gives them flavour a plain soften would not.
- Worcestershire added at the end seasons the whole mixture in one stroke.
- A brief broil melts the provolone and toasts the roll at the same time.
Ingredient Notes
- Provolone
- Eight slices, two per sandwich. Provolone melts white — not an orange processed cheese.
- Three bell peppers
- Red, green and yellow, all sliced. All three colours are visible in the finished sandwich and none is interchangeable with another.
- Worcestershire sauce
- A teaspoon, added when the chicken returns. Small, and it is most of the savoury depth in a sandwich with no sauce.
- No jus
- There is no dipping gravy in this recipe.
How to Make It
Brown the sliced chicken to 165F
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced chicken until browned and 165 degrees Fahrenheit; transfer.
Peppers and onion, some browned edges
Cook peppers and onion in the same skillet until tender with some browned edges.
Back together, Worcestershire
Return chicken, add Worcestershire, salt, and pepper, and toss together.
Fill and top with provolone
Split and lightly butter hoagie rolls. Fill with chicken, peppers, and onion, then top each with provolone.
Broil to melt, and no jus
Broil briefly until the white cheese melts and the rolls toast. Serve without jus or dipping gravy.
What Goes in the Roll
Everything below is what makes this chicken cheese steak, and the last two entries are a cheese that had to be named and a component that had to be left out.
The roll - split and lightly buttered
One of 4 hoagie rolls with a share of 1 tbsp of butter on the cut faces. Lightly: the roll is about to go under a broiler, and butter is what lets it toast in the same short window the cheese needs to melt.
The chicken - thinly sliced, browned first
A quarter of 1 1/2 lb of breast sliced THINLY and cooked in 1 tbsp olive oil to browned and 165F, then taken out. Thin slices brown; thick ones release liquid and stew. It leaves the pan so the vegetables can use it.
Three peppers and an onion
Red, green AND yellow bell pepper with a yellow onion, all sliced and cooked in the same skillet until tender WITH SOME BROWNED EDGES. All four are part of the filling - this is not chicken with a few peppers, it is a sandwich of equal parts. Browned edges rather than merely soft, because the fond the chicken left is there to be used.
Worcestershire, once everything is back
1 tsp with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, tossed through the reunited chicken and vegetables. One teaspoon, and in a sandwich with no sauce at all it carries most of the savoury depth.
Provolone - white, and named
2 slices per roll, laid over the filling and melted under a brief broil. Provolone is the cheese, and it melts WHITE rather than orange - which rules out the processed cheese a cheesesteak is often built with.
Broiled only until the cheese melts and the roll toasts, then served WITHOUT jus or dipping gravy.
Success Tips
- Slice the chicken thin so it browns rather than steams.
- Let the peppers take some colour rather than just softening.
- Watch the broiler — the rolls toast faster than the cheese melts if the shelf is too high.
Serving Ideas
Four filled hoagie rolls on a lined tray, the sliced browned chicken with its red, green and yellow pepper strips and onion under a blanket of melted white provolone in a toasted split roll.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cheese should I use?
Provolone. It melts white, which is how the finished sandwich looks.
Should I serve it with a dipping jus?
No — step 5 leaves out jus and dipping gravy.
Can I use just one colour of pepper?
All three are visible components of this sandwich. Red, green and yellow are what the finished roll shows.
