Japanese Katsu Curry

Wagamama and hanaichi are probably the two most popular restaurant/takeaways for Japanese cuisine. If you have been to any of them you have without a doubt tried their famous Katsu Curry. It is actually a lot easier to make then most people would think and if you like spices you probably have most of the ingredients at home anyway. 

I really like making this recipe from scratch as it is super easy and you know exactly what you are putting in. There ofcourse is the easier option of buying the curry sauce stock cubes from a supermarket and adding your favourite stock to it. The issue I have with most of these store bought premade mixes is they contain heaps of MSG. MSG or commonly known as E621, actually causes inflammation of the tastebuds.... Some people react really badly to MSG, that is why I prefer making most of my food from scratch, so I know exactly what is going into it. 

So I decided to make this alittle easier as there are a fair few steps, so I have included pics. I hope you like this. Please comment in the box below if you enjoyed the format of this recipe. 

Ofcouse this recipe does need rice, you can use any type of white rice. I used basmati rice for this recipe. Start of by cooking your rice and keeping it aside for serving. 

Now for the sauce, few ingredients needed in the pic below. Honey, garam masala, vegetable or chicken stock, salt, curry powder (mild), 1 huge onion finely sliced, chilli flakes and some flour. You could use rice flour if you would like to make it gluten free. 

Cook the onions on a slow heat using sunflower oil, let the onion brown (cook for atleast 6 - 7 mins) once browned add 2 TBLS flour and 2 Tsp of curry powder and mix till the ingredients are well blended together. Once you smell the aroma of the spices add the chilli flakes and garam masala, my suggestion is add alittle and add the stock. Let the sauce start to thicken, TASTE and if you need more spice add more garam masala or chilli flakes, also you may need to add abit of salt depending on how salted your stock is. Once you see the sauce start to thicken add some honey about 2 Tsp and mix. Let is simmer for another 2 - 3 mins before blending it until you have a really smooth but thick sauce, (almost gravy like in texture).

Next, lets move onto the veg or chicken. For this recipe I made both chicken and veg. Remember with the veg however, you have to par boil it in salted water until the veg becomes slightly tender, but not cooked all the way through otherwise it will become mash. 

For the veg I used 1/2 sweet potato, 1/2 potato, 1 Small Zucchini. If you order a veg katsu curry at wagamama this is typically the veg they use, sometimes they use pumpkin too, really yum so give it a try if you have some. The chicken breast I had butterflied so that I could fry it as one solid piece and then cut into smaller pieces to serve. 

Par boil veggies and let it cool. Once cooled coat them in flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs (japanese style breadcrumbs, if you can't get any you could make your own breadcrumbs from bread that you have at home). Repeat the process with the chicken, (you do not need to par boil the chicken as it will cook when you fry it). Once coated keep refrigerated until you are ready to fry. 

Shallow fry in really hot oil in a pan, if you have a deep fryer you can fry it in there. Once crisp and golden remove and let it drain and cool on paper towel. The veggies can be added directly to a pile or rice in the serving bowl and pour warm sauce over the rice and veggies. With the chicken, slice into smaller pieces and check that the chicken is cooked all the way through before serving. To garnish add black sesame seeds with some chilli flakes and serve warm. Your guests will love you for this hearty meal. ENJOY :) CC