Chicken Katsu Curry with a Quick Fruity Sauce
Crisp cutlets and a glossy, apple-sweet sauce
Katsu curry pairs shatteringly crisp panko cutlets with a mellow, golden curry sauce, and it is one of the most comforting plates around. The twist here is in the sauce: grated apple melts down for natural sweetness and a hint of mango chutney adds a fruity, glossy edge. It tastes like the version from your favourite Japanese chain, but made fresh in your own kitchen.
Chicken Katsu Curry with a Quick Fruity Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 100g plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 150g panko breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp plain flour (for the sauce)
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 tbsp mango chutney
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- Steamed rice, to serve
Method
- Start the sauce. Soften the onion in a little oil over medium heat for 8 minutes until golden, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute.
- Stir in the curry powder, garam masala and the tablespoon of flour, and cook for a minute to toast the spices.
- Gradually pour in the stock, stirring, then add the grated apple, mango chutney, soy sauce and honey.
- Simmer gently for 12-15 minutes until thickened and smooth, then blend for a silkier finish if you like. Keep warm.
- Meanwhile, lay the chicken breasts between cling film and bat out to an even thickness with a rolling pin.
- Set up three bowls: flour, beaten egg and panko. Coat each breast in flour, then egg, then press firmly into the panko.
- Heat about 1cm of oil in a wide pan to 170C. Fry the cutlets for 3-4 minutes each side until deep golden and cooked through.
- Drain on kitchen paper, then slice each cutlet into thick strips.
- Spoon rice onto plates, lay the sliced katsu alongside, and pour the warm curry sauce generously over the top.
- Serve at once, with extra sauce on the side.
3 The Story
Katsu curry is a star of yoshoku, the genre of Western-influenced Japanese cooking that took shape over the past century or so. Each part of the name tells part of the story. Katsu is short for katsuretsu, a Japanese rendering of cutlet, describing meat that is breaded and fried in the European manner. Curry, meanwhile, arrived in Japan by a roundabout route, introduced through British naval cooking rather than directly from India, which is why Japanese curry tends to be thicker, milder and a little sweeter than its South Asian cousins.
The breadcrumb of choice is panko, the airy, flaked Japanese crumb that fries up exceptionally light and crisp. Made from crustless bread, panko crumbs are larger and shaggier than ordinary breadcrumbs, so they stay crunchy long after the cutlet hits the plate. Battering the chicken to an even thickness before crumbing helps it cook quickly and evenly, keeping the meat juicy inside its golden shell.
The sauce is where the magic and the comfort live. Classic Japanese curry is famous for its glossy, gravy-like consistency and a flavour that is warming rather than fiery. Restaurant and home cooks alike often reach for sweet ingredients to round it out, and grated apple is a well-known trick, melting into the sauce so you taste its sweetness without any obvious fruitiness. A spoon of mango chutney pushes that idea a little further, adding a fragrant, jammy depth and a beautiful sheen.
Blending the sauce at the end is optional but gives that smooth, pourable texture associated with the dish. It should coat the back of a spoon and flow easily over rice. If it thickens too much as it sits, loosen it with a splash more stock.
Serve the katsu sliced so the crisp coating and tender chicken show, with the sauce ladled over or pooled alongside, and short-grain rice to catch every drop. Many people add quick-pickled vegetables or a little shredded cabbage for freshness and crunch, which cuts neatly through the richness. It is a generous, crowd-pleasing dinner that rewards a tiny bit of organisation at the stove.
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