Golden Chicken Katsu Curry

Crisp panko chicken served over jasmine rice with a Japanese-style curry sauce built from scratch. Slow-cooked onion, carrot and grated apple thicken the sauce naturally, and a small piece of dark chocolate rounds off the spices at the end. A weeknight dinner that eats like takeaway without any of the shortcuts.

Katsu curry earned its place here the first night I made the sauce properly instead of reaching for a boxed roux. Two brown onions cooked down slowly, a grated Granny Smith, and a square of dark chocolate stirred through at the end, and the flavour came out rounder and less sharp than anything that comes in a block. The chicken stays deliberately plain: panko pressed on firmly and rested before it hits the pan so the crust holds together when you slice it. We spoon the sauce over only half the chicken, so the crunch is still there to find under the crisp edges. It has become the dinner my family asks for on the nights takeaway would have been the easy answer.

Prep: 30 min · Cook: 45 min · Serves: 4 · Cuisine: Japanese · Category: Dinner

Ingredients

Japanese Curry Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 large brown onions, finely diced
• 2 medium carrots, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 500ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp tonkatsu sauce
• 10g (2 squares) 70% dark chocolate
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Chicken Katsu

• 700–800g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 4 chicken breasts)
• ½ cup plain flour
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil, for shallow frying

To Serve

• Cooked jasmine rice
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• White sesame seeds
• Japanese pickled vegetables or quick pickled carrot (optional)

Method

1. Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the onions with a small pinch of salt and cook gently for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly caramelised.
3. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Stir through the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. Add the grated apple and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Mix through the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
7. Sprinkle over the curry powder, garam masala and turmeric. Stir constantly for another minute to toast the spices.
8. Pour in the chicken stock and add the soy sauce, mirin and tonkatsu sauce.
9. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
10. Blend until completely smooth using a stick blender or countertop blender.
11. Return the sauce to the saucepan and simmer gently for a few minutes if needed, until thick and velvety.
12. Remove from the heat and stir through the dark chocolate until completely melted.
13. Taste and season with salt and pepper if required.
14. Trim the chicken thighs and gently flatten any thicker sections to an even thickness.
15. Season generously with salt and pepper.
16. Place the flour into one shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together in a second, and place the panko breadcrumbs into a third.
17. Coat each piece of chicken in flour, shaking away any excess.
18. Dip into the egg mixture, then press firmly into the panko until evenly coated.
19. Rest the crumbed chicken for 10 minutes before frying.
20. Heat approximately 1cm of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
21. Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until deeply golden and cooked through.
22. Transfer to a wire rack and rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thick strips.
23. Divide the cooked jasmine rice between four shallow bowls or plates.
24. Arrange the sliced chicken alongside the rice.
25. Spoon the curry sauce over part of the chicken, leaving plenty of the crisp coating visible.
26. Scatter with sliced spring onions and sesame seeds.
27. Serve immediately with Japanese pickles or quick pickled carrot if desired.

Serving Suggestion

Jasmine rice is the standard here, though Black Pepper Rice works beautifully if you want the rice to carry a little more of its own flavour. For something fresh alongside, Crunchy Asian Cabbage Slaw cuts through the richness of the sauce, and Rainbow Ribbon Salad with Sesame, Chilli & Lime does the same job with more colour on the table.

Storage Notes

Refrigerate the curry sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The crumbed chicken is best eaten fresh, but reheats well in the oven or air fryer to bring back the crispness.

Freeze the curry sauce for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop.

Notes

The panko crumb here is deliberately plain. The curry sauce does the seasoning, so a heavily spiced coating underneath competes rather than adds. If you are making schnitzel on its own another night, use the seasoned crumb from Chicken Breast Schnitzel instead.

Slow-cooked onions, carrot and apple thicken the sauce as it simmers, which is why no flour or cornflour appears anywhere in the ingredients.

Two squares of dark chocolate will not make the curry taste of chocolate. They soften the edge of the spices and pull the whole sauce together.

Chicken thighs stay juicier beneath the crust and are my preference. Breast works well too, with the cooking time pulled back slightly so it does not dry out.

The sauce improves after resting for 10 to 15 minutes off the heat, so make it first and let it sit while you fry the chicken.

The Grace Table Tip

Spoon the curry over only part of the chicken rather than covering it. Every serve then has both the silky sauce and a section of crumb that is still properly crisp, which is the difference between this and a plate of soggy schnitzel.