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Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry

8 servings

Curry Roux

  • 100 gunsalted butter
  • 100 gall-purpose flour
  • 4 tbspJapanese curry powder
  • 1 tbspgaram masala
  • ½ tspcayenne pepper

Chicken Curry

  • 670 glarge yellow onions, 2 onions, cut into thick wedges
  • 190 gcarrots, 2 carrots, peeled and roll-cut into wedges
  • 430 gYukon Gold potatoes, 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 1 tspfresh ginger, grated, with its juice
  • 2 clovesgarlic, minced or pressed
  • 170 gapple, half an apple, cored, peeled and grated
  • 1.5 lbboneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
  • black pepper, to taste, freshly ground
  • 1 ½ tbspneutral oil
  • 4 cupschicken stock
  • 1 tbsphoney
  • 1 tbspsoy sauce
  • 1 tbspketchup
  • 2 to 4 tspDiamond Crystal kosher salt

Chicken Katsu

  • 4boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tspDiamond Crystal kosher salt
  • ½ tspblack pepper, freshly ground
  • ¾ cupall-purpose flour
  • 4large eggs
  • 2 tbspneutral oil, for the egg wash
  • 4 cupspanko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 3 cupsneutral oil, for deep-frying

To Serve

  • steamed Japanese short-grain rice, for 8, to taste
  • fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables), to taste
  1. Curry Roux Melt 100 g unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 100 g all-purpose flour and stir constantly with a flat wooden spatula.
  2. Keep stirring over medium-low heat until the roux turns a warm golden brown. Watch closely towards the end, when it colours quickly. 20 min to 25 min
  3. Add 4 tbsp Japanese curry powder, 1 tbsp garam masala and ½ tsp cayenne pepper, stir for 30 s and take the pan off the heat.
  4. Chicken Curry Soak 430 g Yukon Gold potatoes in water to rinse off excess starch while you prepare the rest. 15 min
  5. Cut 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs on a slant into flat, bite-size pieces and season with black pepper.
  6. Heat 1 ½ tbsp neutral oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook 670 g large yellow onions, stirring only now and then, until translucent and starting to colour. Another 5 min gives even more flavour.
  7. Stir in 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp fresh ginger, then add the chicken and cook, stirring often, until no longer pink on the outside. Lower the heat briefly if the onions brown too fast. 5 min
  8. Add 4 cups chicken stock, 170 g apple, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp ketchup, then the 190 g carrots and drained potatoes. The liquid should barely cover everything. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring now and then and skimming off any foam once it boils. 15 min to 20 min
  9. Turn off the heat. Dissolve the the curry roux a little at a time in a ladleful of the hot liquid, stirring each batch back into the pot, until you have used about four fifths of it.
  10. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring often and scraping the bottom so nothing catches, until thick. Add more roux to thicken or water to loosen, then season with 2 to 4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. 5 min to 10 min
  11. Chicken Katsu Butterfly each of 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts: score it down the middle about halfway through, then slice outward from the cut on each side, parallel to the board, and open it out like a pair of doors. Cut each opened breast in half to make two cutlets. 10 min
  12. Pound the cutlets to an even 6 mm (¼ in) to 1.3 cm (½ in) thickness and season both sides with 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
  13. Pour 3 cups neutral oil, for deep-frying into a heavy pot to a depth of about 4 cm (1 ½ in) and start heating it to 170 °C over medium-low heat while you bread the chicken.
  14. Set out three shallow dishes: ¾ cup all-purpose flour; 4 large eggs whisked with 2 tbsp neutral oil, for the egg wash; and 4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs). Dredge each cutlet in flour and shake off the excess, coat it in egg, then press it gently into the panko on both sides.
  15. With the oil at 170 °C, fry one cutlet at a time for about 3 min, turning halfway, until golden on both sides. Keep the heat at medium and adjust to hold the temperature.
  16. Hold each cutlet upright over the pot for a few seconds to drip, then stand it on its side on a wire rack. Skim out stray crumbs between batches so the oil stays clean.
  17. To Serve Spoon steamed Japanese short-grain rice, for 8 onto one side of each plate and ladle the hot curry alongside. Slice the katsu into 2.5 cm (1 in) strips and lay it over the rice and curry. Add a little fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables) on the side.
  • Safety: Large batch: cool quickly in shallow containers or an ice bath, to below 5 °C within 6 hours, before refrigerating. (USDA FSIS)
  • Safety: Poultry should reach 74 °C (165 °F) at the centre. (USDA FSIS)
  • Safety: Egg dishes should reach 71 °C (160 °F) at the centre. (USDA FSIS)
  • Safety: Chicken should reach 74°C in the thickest part. If the cutlets are thicker than the recipe calls for, check with a thermometer. (The author)
  • Safety: Never leave hot oil unattended, keep the pot no more than half full of oil, and lower the cutlets in away from you. (The author)