Hearty Chicken Katsu Curry Recipe (Katsu Kare)

September 8, 2020 · Last Modified: June 15, 2023

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Hearty Chicken Katsu Curry Recipe (Katsu Kare) | Fork & Spoon (1)

“Steph ain’t got nothin’ on this chicken katsu curry” – Elijah

Chicken katsu curry (katsu kare) has comforting warmth, bold flavor, and a crispy (but juicy) bite is guaranteed to slam dunk you into a food coma. If you’ve ever wanted to make this yourself, now’s the time!

Katsu curry (katsu kare) is a hearty Japanese dish made of vegetable curry topped with fried chicken or pork. It is served with a variety of pickled veggies, fresh veggies, and rice.

The history of Japanese curry

The spice mix for curry powder were most likely brought over to Japan through the British Empire, who had colonized India from 1858 – 1947. In the early 1900’s, the Russo-Japanese War meant that the Japanese government needed a way to feed their Navy and Army. It also became very popular among civilians, although it is unclear exactly when this happened.

Hearty Chicken Katsu Curry Recipe (Katsu Kare) | Fork & Spoon (2)

Curry sauce ingredients

The popular Japanese curry sauce is made from curry roux (cubes of pre-mixed spices, which come in mild, medium, or spicy), garlic, onion, carrots, and potato. In addition, there are ingredients like grated apple, mirin, and honey, which add a subtle sweetness to the bold curry sauce.

The curry is very versatile for cooking at home, since you can make this with basically any vegetables you currently have. Note: we recommend using “sturdier” vegetables, like potato, radish, or bok choy, that will hold itself well against the heavy sauce.

You can also make this recipe vegetarian, or switch out the meat for pork or beef. Or, simply eat it with rice. It’s delicious either way. Go ahead and make it your own!

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How to cook chicken katsu

To fry katsu, you must first tenderize the meat for even frying and better texture. It breaks up the stiff muscle fibers so your chicken will come out soft and succulent.

Next, coat the chicken in flour, then egg wash, then panko. Do this right before frying so that the panko doesn’t become soggy.

Fry with neutral oil (vegetable, canola, peanut, safflower, etc.) for about 5 minutes on each side.

Hearty Chicken Katsu Curry Recipe (Katsu Kare) | Fork & Spoon (4)

Tips on cooking chicken katsu curry

Tip #1: Tenderize the meat until the thickness is even, but don’t overtenderize. Overtenderizing will cause the meat to be ripped or smashed, and won’t cook as well in the fryer due to the uneven surface area.

Tip #2: How do you know if the oil is ready if you don’t have a thermometer? You can test the heat of the oil with a wooden spoon or chopstick. If the oil bubbles steadily when you dip the utensil in the oil, it is ready for frying. No bubbles = not hot enough. Violent bubbles = too hot.

Tip #3: For faster (and less messy) cooking, make an “assembly line” of flour, egg, and panko next to your fryer. We like to use our tupperware because they perfectly fit one slice of chicken and have room for us to roll it around for coating. Coat in flour, then egg, then panko, then…fry! In this way, you won’t be moving so much around the kitchen and you can cook much faster!

Final Thoughts

Katsu curry (katsu kare) is a hearty Japanese dish that warms the bellies of everyone who eats it. Savor the simple pleasure of fried chicken combined with the rich flavors of curry sauce.

Chicken Katsu Curry

Katsu curry (katsu kare) is a hearty Japanese dish that warms the bellies of everyone who eats it. Savor the simple pleasure of fried chicken combined with the rich flavors of curry sauce.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

Keyword: chicken, curry

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Equipment

Ingredients

Katsu Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1 cup panko
½ cup flour
3 eggs
vegetable oil for frying

Curry

2 cloves garlic sliced
1 small onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 potato cubed
1 fuji apple grated
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp mirin
1 packet curry sauce

Sides

pickled vegetables
microgreens

Instructions

Fry the chicken katsu

Fill a cast iron with 2 inches of vegetable oil. Heat to high.
Place the chicken breast in a sealable bag or wrap with plastic. Tenderize until the chicken is about ½-1 inch thick throughout. Be careful not to overtenderize, in which the met becomes shredded and limp.
Immediately before frying, coat the chicken in flour, then egg, then panko.
Add the breaded chicken to the hot oil. Fry 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Remove the chicken from heat, then let it cool on a paper towel or a wire rack.

Cook the curry sauce

In a pot or dutch oven, add garlic, ginger and onion. Cook until fragrant.
Add carrots and potato, then fill half with pot with water. Close the pot with a lid and boil for 20 minutes.
Add grated apple, honey, mirin, and curry packet. Keep it at a low boil for another 20 minutes, stirring every couple minutes.

How to serve

Use a bowl or a plate. Ladle some curry sauce then add the chicken katsu.
Serve with pickled vegetables and microgreens.

Notes

Don’t have a thermometer? You can test the heat of the oil with a wooden spoon or chopstick. If the oil bubbles steadily when you dip the utensil in the oil, it is ready for frying. No bubbles = not hot enough. Violent bubbles = too hot.
Be careful not to overtenderize. Stop tenderizing as soon as the thickness is evened to ensure that the meat does not become ripped, broken, or smashed.
Curry sauce can be made from scratch, but given the amount of ingredients, we decided it would be more efficient (both in terms of time and money) for us to buy almost ready curry packets. If only we had the spice rack of the gods!
Asian markets often have pickled vegetables ready to eat. We got ours from Mitsuwa, and they conveniently have combo packs specifically for eating with katsu!

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