Chicken Katsu (fried chicken cutlet)
Okay like I start all of my posts like this, this is NOT an amazing authentic Japanese recipe! I started out following a more traditional recipe and eventually made it my own. This is the recipe I use for when we make Japanese style curry. But these cutlets have so many uses! I share how we use them down below!
Also, I wanted to share pictures of my whole process, but I can’t find them to save my life, so I will add them later! For now, a picture of the end result will have to do.
READ THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN!!! There won’t be exact measurements because it all depends on how much chicken you are frying. For the egg wash, I usually do about 1 egg per 2 chicken breasts and 1TBL of milk per egg. But you can always refill your dishes as you are frying the chicken if you run low! After you fry the chicken, line a baking sheet with paper towels and set a cooling rack on top. You can set the cutlets on that when you are done, that lets the extra oil drip off so they don’t get soggy. If you are doing a large batch of chicken, set that pan in the oven at 170° and keep the chicken in there until you are ready to serve. Lastly, GET A THERMOMETER!! I love my meat thermometer, I can keep an eye on the oil temp, and check the chicken when it’s done.
Ingredients:
- Chicken Breasts
- 3 Pie Plates (or other shallow dish)
- Flour
- Eggs
- Milk
- Japanese Panko
- Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (told you it’s not authentic)
- Vegetable Oil
- Pan for frying (I love using a cast iron skillet)
Instructions:
- Pound the chicken to be about an inch or so thick. Then cut them into two pieces (I like to cut them so it’s two oval pieces, not the long skinny way).
- Set the chicken aside and line the pie pans up by the stove putting about an inch of flour in one, eggs and milk (whisk them!) in the next, and Panko in the last. The panko should be closest to your stove. This is a nice assembly line to help keep your kitchen clean!
- Pour oil into the pan so it’s about an inch deep. Heat oil in pan to about 325-340°. This is where a thermometer is needed so you can keep an eye on the temp and adjust the heat as necessary.
- Once the oil is ready, get a piece of the chicken, season it with the Lawry’s, cover it in the flour (shake off excess), dip it in the egg wash, and then the panko (I like to really press the panko on to get a good covering).
- Carefully place it in the oil and fry on both sides until it is a nice golden brown. If you aren’t use to frying chicken, check it with a meat thermometer.
- Place it in the oven to keep warm, or serve immediately.
Now I love this recipe for its versatility, we use it with the curry, but it also tastes great with mashed potatoes and gravy, on a sandwich, or I can cut the chicken a little smaller for chicken nuggets. When I make this chicken, I buy a GIANT package of chicken and fry it all, I let it cool and them freeze it in a ziploc bag. I warm it back up in our toaster oven, about 15 minutes at 400°, and they taste great! This saves me TONS of time, so I’m not frying Chien every single time we want curry. You can check out my Japanese Curry recipe on my blog!
