Fried chicken with curry may not sound like the most Japanese of dishes, but it is in fact one of the most popular dishes in Japan. The history with Japan and curry goes back hundreds of years, and fried chicken just as long. This is assumed due to the Portuguese trader’s influence back when Japan was mostly closed off to the rest of the world. Today you can go into any curry house like CoCo ICHIBANYA and order a delicious chicken katsu curry.
There are two parts that make up a chicken katsu curry, the chicken katsu (fried chicken cutlet) and the Japanese curry roux. In fact the name in Japanese for this dish translates literally to chicken cutlet curry and is written in katakana to differentiate it from traditional Japanese dishes. If you prefer to use a box mix then I suggest using Kokumaro Japanese curry bricks. Just simmer them in a liter of water for 15 minutes for a quick and easy Japanese curry roux!
Make A Japanese Curry Roux At Home
To make a Japanese curry roux you need 1. a spice blend and 2. butter and flour. Here are all the ingredients:
- 100 grams Butter
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Curry Powder can use sweet or spicy, I prefer sweet when making Japanese curries
- 2 tsp Cumin ground
- 1 tsp Fenugreek
- 1 tsp Fennel Seed ground
- 1/2 tsp Curcuma ground
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- Soy Sauce to taste
- 2 cups Water more or less to achieve your desired consistency
Simply make a standard roux by mixing the flour in with the melted butter in a pan and then whisk in the spice mix. When the spices start to become very fragrant and toasted add in some soy sauce to taste, and then slowly trickle in water until you get to your desired consistency. Japanese curry is thicker than South Asian curries, but you still want it to be fairly liquid.
How To Make Chicken Katsu
If you’ve made fried chicken before then you’ll have no problem with a chicken katsu. In fact, this is just a breaded and fried chicken cutlet so it’s really not much different than American style fried chicken in terms of method.
After tenderizing your chicken breasts it is time to bread them. First place the cutlet in a plate of flour, then dredge in egg, then cover in panko bread crumbs. These are light and airy Japanese bread crumbs which are signature to this dish.
Next place the chicken into a pan of hot oil. I shallow fry my chicken katsu so have the oil just go up about halfway. You are able to deep fry these if you want to though. I fry each side for about 1.5-2 minutes, then move to a paper towel lined plate to dry.
Making The Chicken Katsu Curry
To serve this dish I make a mound using half a cup of white rice and then ladle the curry around it. I slice the chicken katsu into thin strips and lay the entire cutlet over the Japanese curry roux and the rice. Then I ladle over a bit more curry. If you don’t want the rice, you can eat the katsu curry separately, and just pair it with a simple Japanese potato salad instead!
Chicken Katsu Curry
Equipment
- Pan
Ingredients
Japanese Curry Roux
- 100 grams Butter
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Curry Powder can use sweet or spicy. I prefer sweet when making Japanese curries
- 2 tsp Cumin ground
- 1 tsp Fenugreek
- 1 tsp Fennel Seed ground
- 1/2 tsp Curcuma ground
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- Soy Sauce to taste
- 2 cups Water more or less to achieve your desired consistency
Chicken Katsu
- 4 Chicken Breasts pounded tender
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs more or less depending on surface area of your breasts.
- 2 Eggs
- Flour for coating
- Oil for frying
Instructions
To make the Japanese Curry Roux
- For my spice blend I start with a tablespoon each of Garam Masala and Sweet Curry Powder. To that I add two teaspoons of cumin, and then a teaspoon each of fenugreek, and ground fennel seed. Finally I add in half a teaspoon of Curcuma and black pepper. Just mix that up and voila, a Japanese curry powder blend.
- In a pan on low heat begin heating the butter. When the butter is fully melted add in the flour and whisk. You want the flour to thicken the sauce, but not enough for it to clump yet. The spice blend will achieve what leaving out excess flour.
- Next shake in the spice blend and stir it in. Now the roux should be getting clumpy and paste-like. Let the clumpy roux toast a bit until everything is very fragrant. Then slowly start trickling in the water whisking the entire time.
- Move to a re-sealable bowl or container for use in a variety of recipes. Or just spoon over some freshly made rice and enjoy!
To make the Chicken Katsu
- Take the tenderized breasts and lightly coat them in flour. Then dredge into beaten egg, then coat with panko bread crumbs.
- Drop each cutlet into a pan of hot oil and let fry 1.5-2 minutes per side, or until golden. Remove and place on a paper towel lined plate to dry.
- On a plate add some rice and ladle over some curry. Slice the chicken breasts into strips and lay them down on top of the curry roux. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
