Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry and Rice

Method23 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Cut the 300 g boneless chicken thigh into bite-size pieces and season with the 1 pinch salt and pepper for curry chicken. Keep the separate cutlet seasoning for step 9.

   Uses 300 g boneless chicken thigh for the curry · 1 pinch salt and pepper for the curry chicken

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Thinly slice the onion (1). Peel the 2 potatoes and carrot and cut into similar bite-size chunks. Keep the sliced onion and potato-and-carrot chunks separate.

   Uses 1 onion · 2 potatoes · 1 carrot

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Melt the 1 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add all the seasoned curry chicken from step 1 and fry until its surfaces are browned; it will finish cooking in the curry.

   Uses 1 tbsp butter · Seasoned bite-size curry chicken

   
4. 4

   Step 4: Add the sliced onion from step 2 to the chicken-and-butter pot from step 3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion slightly softens.

   Uses Browning chicken and butter in the curry pot · Sliced onion reserved separately from potato and carrot

   
5. 5

   Step 5: Add the potato and carrot chunks reserved in step 2 and the 1 tbsp ready tsuyu sauce to the chicken-and-onion pot from step 4. Stir over the heat for about 1 minute.

   Uses Chicken, onion and butter in the curry pot · Potato and carrot chunks · 1 tbsp ready tsuyu sauce (noodle soup base)

   
6. 6

   Step 6: Add the 600 ml curry water to the pot from step 5 and bring to a boil. This route uses ready homemade curry roux.

   Uses Chicken and vegetables with tsuyu · 600 ml water for the curry

   
7. 7

   Step 7: Lower the boiling curry pot from step 6 to a simmer. Add the ready homemade Japanese curry roux for 4 source portions and stir until completely dissolved.

   Uses Boiling chicken, vegetables and curry water · Ready homemade Japanese curry roux for 4 source portions

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Add the ½ tbsp honey, 1 tbsp sake, ½ tsp fenugreek powder and 1 tsp tomato ketchup to the curry from step 7, plus the optional pinch of chili powder (1 pinch). Simmer for about 10–20 minutes, checking from 10 minutes and stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and carrots are tender, the chicken reaches 74 °C in its center and the sauce has your preferred thickness. Continue cooking if needed; add a little extra water only if it becomes too thick. Keep the finished curry covered and hot while making the cutlets, stirring and reheating as needed.

   Check chicken curry · 10 minUses Chicken and vegetables with dissolved curry roux · ½ tbsp honey · 1 tbsp sake · ½ tsp fenugreek powder · 1 tsp tomato ketchup · 1 pinch chili powder (optional) · Additional water, a little at a time only if the curry becomes too thick

   
9. 9

   Step 9: Put enough neutral high-smoke-point oil for deep frying in a suitable fryer or pot, keeping it off the heat while breading. Cut each of the 2 large chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 4 cutlets. Season both sides with the separate 2 pinches salt and pepper for cutlets.

   Uses Neutral high-smoke-point cooking oil, enough for deep frying · 2 large chicken breasts, each halved horizontally to make 4 cutlets · 2 pinches salt and pepper for the 4 cutlets

   
10. 10

    Step 10: Place the seasoned cutlets from step 9 between plastic wrap and pound evenly to about 1 cm thick. Set them aside while preparing the coating bowls.

    Uses Four seasoned chicken cutlets

    
11. 11

    Step 11: Whisk the separate 100 ml batter water, 2 eggs and 100 g batter flour in a bowl to make a thick batter.

    Uses 100 ml water for the batter · 2 eggs for the batter · 100 g all-purpose flour for the batter

    
12. 12

    Step 12: Mix the 50 g panko breadcrumbs with the 4 tbsp grated Parmesan on a separate plate.

    Uses 50 g panko breadcrumbs · 4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

    
13. 13

    Step 13: Put the 6 tbsp dusting flour on another plate. Dust all 4 pounded cutlets from step 10 evenly and brush off excess flour.

    Uses Four pounded cutlets · 6 tbsp all-purpose flour for dusting the cutlets

    
14. 14

    Step 14: Dip each flour-dusted cutlet from step 13 in the batter from step 11, letting excess batter drip back into the bowl.

    Uses Four flour-dusted cutlets · Egg, water and flour batter

    
15. 15

    Step 15: Cover each battered cutlet from step 14 with the Parmesan-panko mixture from step 12. Set all 4 breaded cutlets on a clean tray, keeping any coating leftovers separate. Discard leftover batter and coating that touched raw chicken.

    Uses Four battered cutlets · Parmesan-panko coating mixture

    
16. 16

    Step 16: Once all cutlets are breaded, heat the frying oil set up in step 9 to 170 °C. Carefully add only as many cutlets from step 15 as fit without crowding. Fry the first batch for about 3 minutes on the first side, watching the oil and keeping it near 170 °C; then turn them in step 17.

    First batch: first side · 3 minUses Frying oil in the unheated fryer · First batch drawn from the four breaded cutlets

    
17. 17

    Step 17: Turn the first batch from step 16 and fry for about 3 minutes on the second side. Check for golden breading and 74 °C in the chicken center; continue frying if needed. Lift fully cooked cutlets to a clean wire rack and keep the frying oil in the fryer for any remaining cutlets.

    First batch: second side · 3 minUses First cutlet batch and frying oil

18. 18

    Step 18: If breaded cutlets remain from step 15, return the frying oil from step 17 to 170 °C. Add the next uncrowded batch and fry for about 3 minutes on its first side, then turn it in step 19. Keep the already cooked cutlets on their clean rack.

    Remaining batch: first side · 3 minUses Remaining breaded cutlets · Frying oil retained after lifting the first cooked batch

19. 19

    Step 19: For each remaining batch, turn the cutlets from step 18 and fry for about 3 minutes on the second side. Check that the breading is golden and the chicken center reaches 74 °C, continuing if needed. Lift cooked cutlets to the clean rack. Repeat steps 18–19, with a fresh first-side and second-side check for each batch, until all 4 cutlets are cooked.

    Remaining batch: second side · 3 minUses Remaining cutlet batch and retained frying oil

20. 20

    Step 20: Let all 4 cooked cutlets collected in steps 17–19 drain on the wire rack for a few minutes before slicing. Keep them separate from the frying oil.

    Uses Cooked first-batch cutlets on their clean rack · Cooked remaining cutlets collected on the rack, if further batches were needed

    
21. 21

    Step 21: Have the 4 portions ready cooked Japanese short-grain rice hot. Check that the curry from step 8 is still hot; if it was cooled and refrigerated, reheat it to 74 °C. Divide the rice and curry between 4 plates, with rice on one side and curry on the other.

    Uses 4 portions ready cooked Japanese short-grain rice · Finished chicken-and-vegetable curry

    
22. 22

    Step 22: Slice the drained cutlets from step 20 into about 1 cm strips and place one cutlet on each rice-and-curry plate from step 21. Add optional ready fukujinzuke pickles and a little fresh parsley.

    Uses Four drained cooked cutlets · Four rice-and-curry plates · fukujinzuke pickles (optional) · fresh parsley (optional)

    
23. 23

    Step 23: Serve the 4 chicken katsu curry plates from step 22 promptly. For leftovers, cool curry, rice and cutlets promptly in separate shallow containers, refrigerate at 4 °C or below and use within 2 days. The source gives up to 1 month for frozen curry and cutlets; remove potatoes from curry before freezing for better texture. Reheat leftovers to 74 °C throughout.

    Uses Four finished chicken katsu curry plates