Crunchy chicken katsu is served next to a mildly sweet, melt-in-your-mouth beef curry in this delicious recipe bringing two Japanese comfort foods together. Chicken katsu curry will easily become a family favorite!
In a large heavy-bottom pan, such as a dutch oven, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat then brown chuck roast cubes but do not cook all the way through. Remove from heat and put on a plate and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the onion and sauté until softened.
Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5-7 minutes then add the beef stock (start with 2 1/2 cups) until it covers the ingredients. Bring to a boil then add the curry cubes. They dissolve themselves so don’t worry about them. Just throw them in. Add the chuck roast back into the pot. Once mixture comes to a boil, stir, then cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes until mixture is nice and thick. If you see the mixture is too thick, add more liquid/beef stock to thin it out but we kind of like it thicker so it’s all preference.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
For the chicken katsu:
While the curry is cooking, in a plastic bag, pound your chicken breasts to a thin filet, one at a time, with the flat end of a meat tenderizer. If you're using thin sliced, you may not have to do this step as it's already thin enough. Make sure to have padding underneath your plastic bag so you don't break your countertops!
In a shallow dish, add in flour, salt, and pepper. Mix around.
In another shallow dish, beat 2 eggs.
In yet another shallow dish, put your panko in.
Assemble the shallow dishes in the following order: flour, eggs, panko.
In a skillet, turn the heat on medium high and add a thin layer of vegetable oil to the pan, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
Take one of your chicken filets, dredge it in flour on both sides, then egg, then cover it in panko and shake off any excess.
Test the oil to see if it's hot by flicking some water in it. If it sizzles, you're good.
With tongs, put your breaded chicken in and cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes or until it's brown (don't burn it).
It shouldn't take long for the chicken to cook all the way through since they've been pounded out so thin.
Before you start on another filet, I would clear out the skillet of straggling panko crumbs. Just take a spatula and scrape them out. They'll burn if you keep them in there for your other filets and your house will smell like disaster :)
To assemble:
Put some cooked white rice on a plate then ladle curry over top. Slice the chicken katsu into thin strips (as seen in photos) then place next to the curry.
Notes
Storing. Seal the katsu chicken in one container and the curry in another. Place both in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating. When ready to reheat, put the curry in a pot on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. At the same time, place the katsu in a toaster oven (or an oven heated to 375 degrees F) and bake for 6-7 minutes. Serve the curry and the katsu together over rice.
Freezing. Seal the katsu and the curry in separate airtight containers and place them in the freezer. They will keep there for up to 2 months. When you are ready to reheat, allow both components to thaw in the refrigerator before following the reheating instructions above.