Recipe
Chicken katsu curry
Japanese comfort food: crackly panko-crusted chicken over rice, smothered in a smooth curry sauce built on a butter-flour-curry roux made from scratch - mild, glossy and completely different from Indian-style curries.
Chicken katsu curry takes about 65 minutes and makes 2 servings. Each serving has 1440 kcal.
- Preparation
- 25 minutes
- Cooking
- 40 minutes
- Total time
- 65 minutes
- Servings
- 2
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 1440 kcal
- Protein
- 65 g
- Carbohydrates
- 145 g
- Fat
- 62 g
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs500 g
- Panko breadcrumbs100 g
- All-purpose flour80 g
- Eggs2 pcs
- Butter30 g
- Curry powder1 tbsp
- Onion1 pc
- Carrot1 pc
- Garlic2 cloves
- Soy sauce1 tbsp
- Honey1 tsp
- Jasmine rice200 g
- Sunflower oil30 ml
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the rice and cook it with 300 ml of water: bring to a boil, cover, 12 minutes on the lowest heat, then rest off the heat.
- 2
For the sauce, finely dice the onion and carrot. Sweat them in a saucepan with a little oil over medium heat until soft, about 8 minutes, adding the chopped garlic at the end.
- 3
Push the vegetables aside, melt the butter in the pan, stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and the curry powder and cook the roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly - it should smell toasty, not burnt.
Tip: The roux is what makes this a Japanese curry - cook it until it darkens a shade to lose the raw flour taste, but keep stirring or it burns in seconds.
- 4
Gradually whisk in 500 ml of water, then the soy sauce and honey. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce coats a spoon. Blend it smooth if you like, and keep warm.
- 5
Butterfly each chicken thigh so it is evenly thick. Season, then coat: first flour, then beaten egg, then press firmly into the panko.
Tip: Press the panko on with your palm so the crust does not slide off in the pan - and use one hand for dry, one for wet, or you will bread your fingers.
- 6
Heat 1 cm of oil in a wide pan to 170 °C - a panko crumb dropped in should sizzle at once. Fry the chicken 4 minutes on the first side, until deep golden.
- 7
Flip and fry 4 more minutes on the second side. Drain on a rack or paper towels and rest a minute.
- 8
Let the katsu rest for 3 minutes, then slice it crosswise into 2 cm strips with a sharp knife.
- 9
Mound the rice on plates, lay the sliced katsu alongside and spoon the curry sauce generously over the chicken.
Cooking methods
On the stove
Two burners: sauce on a back ring at a lazy simmer, frying pan in front at a steady medium-high. Keep the oil at 170 °C - if the panko browns in under 30 seconds it is too hot, and cold oil makes a greasy crust.
On induction
The roux behaves well on induction: power 5 and constant stirring. Fry the katsu at 7, nudging down if the crumbs darken too fast - a thermometer or a test crumb is more honest than the display.
Over an open fire
Shallow-frying over open flames is risky and not recommended - hot oil and flames do not mix. The curry sauce, however, simmers beautifully in a Dutch oven over embers; fry the katsu indoors and bring the two together at the table.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 65 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 2 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. The roux behaves well on induction: power 5 and constant stirring. Fry the katsu at 7, nudging down if the crumbs darken too fast - a thermometer or a test crumb is more honest than the display.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Shallow-frying over open flames is risky and not recommended - hot oil and flames do not mix. The curry sauce, however, simmers beautifully in a Dutch oven over embers; fry the katsu indoors and bring the two together at the table.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
