Chicken Katsu Curry

Method

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1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until the roux smells nutty and turns the colour of peanut butter.

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2. Stir in the curry powder and garam masala and cook 60 seconds to bloom the spices. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.

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3. In the same pan, soften the onion in a little oil for 10 minutes until golden. Add the garlic, ginger, carrot and grated apple and cook 3 minutes.

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4. Pour in the stock, soy sauce, honey and salt and simmer for 15 minutes until the carrot is tender.

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5. Whisk the roux back in a spoonful at a time and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickly coats a spoon. Blend smooth if you prefer, or leave rustic.

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6. Season the chicken. Coat each cutlet in flour, then egg, then press firmly into panko on both sides.

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7. Heat the oil to 175°C / 350°F and fry the cutlets two at a time for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deep gold and cooked to 74°C / 165°F inside. Drain on a rack.

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8. Rest for 3 minutes, then slice into 2 cm strips. Serve over rice with the curry sauce poured alongside, keeping part of the crust exposed and crisp.

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Chef’s Tips

• Panko, not standard breadcrumbs. Its flaked structure is what makes katsu shatter rather than crunch.
• Pour the sauce beside the cutlet, not over it, so the crust stays crisp to the last bite.
• The sauce freezes brilliantly — make a double batch and katsu curry becomes a 20-minute weeknight meal.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Panko gives the crunchiest crust here, but ordinary dried breadcrumbs will still fry crisp if that's what's in the cupboard.
• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• Cold Japanese lager or genmaicha
• Serve with shredded cabbage dressed in rice vinegar and fukujinzuke pickles
• Finish with matcha ice cream

Storage & Reheating

The sauce keeps 5 days refrigerated and 3 months frozen. Cooked katsu keeps 2 days; re-crisp at 200°C / 390°F for 8 minutes on a rack.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.