Rick Stein’s Chicken Katsu Curry
Master the perfect chicken katsu curry at home with Rick Stein's easy-to-follow recipe. If you're looking for a vegetarian alternative, this recipe can also be made with aubergine.
From the book
Introduction
You can find chicken katsu in Wagamama, Yo! Sushi and Itsu as well as in supermarket chiller cabinets, testimony to the dish’s popularity in this country. There are probably very few people under the age of 30 who don’t know it. It’s a dish that combines the Japanese love of protein fried in panko breadcrumbs with the flavours of India. Personally, being perhaps more familiar with the flavours of India than many Japanese, I prefer my katsu a little bit hotter than usual, so have added a modest amount of cayenne pepper to the recipe and I like a splash of vinegar to give it a bit more vigour. Katsu curry often appears on vegetarian menus, and I think slices of aubergine are the perfect alternative to chicken.
Ingredients
| 4 small | chicken breasts (or 2 aubergines, thickly sliced) |
| 2 tbsp | plain flour |
| 1 large | egg, beaten |
| 60–70g | panko breadcrumbs |
| 60ml | sunflower or vegetable oil |
| salt and black pepper | |
| For the rice: | |
|---|---|
| 400g | sushi rice |
| ½ tsp | salt |
| For the katsu sauce: | |
| 2 tbsp | oil |
| 2 | carrots, chopped |
| 1 | large onion, chopped |
| 2 | garlic cloves, chopped |
| 10g | root ginger, grated |
| 1 tbsp | medium curry powder |
| ½ tsp | cayenne pepper |
| 400ml tin of | coconut milk |
| 150ml | chicken stock |
| 2–3 tsp | soy sauce |
| 2 tsp | honey |
| 2 tbsp | malt vinegar |
| To serve: | |
| steamed green beans or tenderstem broccoli |
Essential kit
You will need: a stick blender or liquidiser.
Method
Wash the sushi rice until it runs clear, then leave it to soak for about 30 minutes in cold water.
For the sauce, heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the carrots, onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the curry powder and cayenne and cook for a minute, then add the coconut milk, chicken stock, soy sauce, honey and the vinegar. Simmer for 20–25 minutes until the vegetables are really soft and the liquid has reduced a little. Using a stick blender or liquidiser, blitz to form a smooth sauce, then taste and add a little more soy sauce or honey if needed.
Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of cling film or baking parchment and bash it into an escalope about 3–4mm thick. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the other breasts. Put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs on 3 separate plates. Dip each chicken breast in flour, then egg and finally the breadcrumbs. If using slices of aubergine, you don’t need to bash them, just season and coat them in the same way as the chicken. Put the soaked rice in a pan with 500ml of cold water and the salt, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the lid on the pan and allow the rice to steam for a further 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken, or aubergine, for 4–5 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer to a warm plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm if cooking in batches.
Slice each chicken breast or aubergine slice on the diagonal into 5 pieces. Spoon some rice into a teacup and compress, then turn out on to a plate to make a rice dome. Add slices of chicken or aubergine and spoon over some of the sauce. Serve with green vegetables.
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