Similar to Tonkatsu, Chicken Katsu is the Japanese version of crispy-fried, breaded chicken cutlets. It is accompanied by a similar sauce as well, but one that better compliments the chicken itself with notes of brown sugar, ginger, and garlic in addition to the base Tonkatsu sauce ingredients. It is typically made from chicken breasts that have been butterflied in half and tenderized down to about 1/4-inch thick pieces that facilitate quick cooking times and extra crispy bites! Today's recipe, Chicken Katsu, is a straightforward take on the standard Japanese version so no point in beating around the bush any longer...Let's Get Cooking!
The first thing we want to knock out for this Chicken Katsu recipe is the sauce. Begin by combining the ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, and garlic in a bowl and mixing well. Once everything is living happily every after together, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate it till you are ready to serve your chicken cutlets. This little bit of time in the fridge helps fuse all those flavors together making for a sauce with more depth and flavor than one just thrown together at the last minute.
Next, we can turn our attention to the chicken. Normally, I am a huge fan of buying generic primal cuts and breaking them down myself rather than paying a butcher 3x the cost for a couple swipes of a knife. For this recipe, I cheated and bought thin sliced chicken breasts to save the hassle of any prep work. Otherwise, take your standard chicken breast and slice it almost completely in half butterflying it. You can then place it under a layer or two of plastic wrap and beat the hell out of it with the back of a heavy chef's knife or meat tenderizer mallet. No matter which method or size of chicken breast you start with, ultimately you want to end with pieces about a 1/4-inch thick for a quick fry time and extra crispy finish.
Once all your chicken breasts have been beaten into submission, I mean thinned down, set up a dredging station like you would for any other fried chicken recipe. Your first container should have some basic all-purpose flour, beaten eggs in the second, and finally the third container will have Japanese Panko breadcrumbs. You may be wondering if you can use other breadcrumbs, eh? Well, short answer is yes, but then it wouldn't exactly be Japanese-style Chicken Katsu now would it? The only other thing that needs to get done at this point is to heavily salt your chicken. It's the only seasoning we will be using for this recipe, besides the sauce which does a majority of the work, so be generous and make sure all sides of your cutlets are salted.
Start by coating your chicken in the flour and shaking off any excess. Dunk it into the eggs and let the excess drip off before dropping it into the Panko and ensuring all sides are coated. Take a few minutes and really make sure those breadcrumbs are stuck on well because this is how it ultimately ends up crispy! It is just dredging so I don't think anyone needs any additional explanation here. Repeat the process until all your chicken has been coated and ready for the fryer. Speaking of which, you should start heating your oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit while you knock out this dredging step.
Now that all the chicken is coated and your oil is up to temperature, simply drop 1-2 cutlets at a time and fry them for about 6-8 minutes, until cooked through, browned, and the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the chicken is so thin, the cooking process is fairly quick so pay attention and watch for your cutlets to float to the top of the oil, signaling they are close to being cooked. Remove the cooked cutlets from the oil and place on a wire rack to drain and cool. Repeat this process until all your chicken has been fried. If you are making a large batch, you can let the chicken rest in an oven set at 200 degrees Fahrenheit while you finish up to keep everything warm.
Now that's some GDB chicken if I do so say myself! Golden, brown, and delicious.....and super crispy of course! You can enjoy your Chicken Katsu a few different ways, perhaps with some curry or even just with rice. Most restaurants slice the cutlets before serving, but you can choose to let your guests slice it themselves if you wish. Don't forget about that sauce we made earlier, either! It's the true icing on the cake for this dish that helps seal the deal on its place in Flavortown! This simple Chicken Katsu is one of my favorite quick and easy weeknight meals that everyone loves so be sure to give it a try and let me know how you served yours and what everyone thought. Again, another prime example of a dish most people may think is too complicated to pull off at home themself, but now you know that's simply not the case as long as you get in the kitchen and try....Just Keep Cooking!
CHICKEN KATSU
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