Chicken katsudon is a Japanese-style fried chicken cutlet rice bowl. Some restaurants like to serve the chicken katsu with a sweet & tangy sauce that’s made with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce but I prefer mine with dashi stock, egg and onions.
My husband enjoyed the chicken because the outside was crispy and the inside was juicy. I loved it too because the oil tasted fresh (I never reuse oil), coating was light and it wasn’t greasy as it didn’t ooze oil when I took a bite.
An economical Japanese meal that is easy to make at home. Definitely great for kids too! ボナペティ (Bon Appétit in Japanese) 🙂
A reader had recently asked me for tips on how to fry food and I thought I would just share a bit more details on this post.
I’m not an expert in deep frying because I only do it occasionally as we all know eating too much fried foods isn’t great for us but these are some rules that I observe faithfully (after some hard lessons) just to make sure the frying process is a breeze for me and I won’t end up scalding myself or doing more cleaning up.
- Use oil that has a high heating point such as sunflower, canola, peanut oil or soy bean oil. Do not use butter or olive oil.
- Make sure the chicken is dry before seasoning and breading it. This is extremely important especially if you thaw frozen chicken meat (do it in the fridge the night before) or tend to rinse the meat under running tap water before cooking. Just use paper towels to dab the chicken on both sides.
- When I first started frying chicken, I always ‘threw’ it quickly into the pot of hot oil because I was scared of having the oil scalding my hands which was kinda ironic. This would not happened if your chicken is perfectly dry. Also, as the ‘throwing’ action will obviously make the oil splash, all you have to do is to gently slip the chicken into the oil with a pair of tongs. Don’t be afraid of the oil and gentle action pays off. 😉 This way, the oil will not splatter everywhere and will not dirty your entire cooker hob too.
- Frying is best done at a oil temperature of 175-180 deg C. So if you have a cooking thermometer, make good use of it. I don’t have one so I gauged my oil temperature by first heating the oil over medium heat for approx. 2 minutes and then throwing in a pinch of breadcrumbs. If they bubble in the oil without turning brown almost immediately, then the oil is ready for frying.
- As chicken cutlets are flat, you don’t have to use an entire wok of oil (too wasteful) to deep fry them. About 250ml sunflower oil is sufficient to shallow fry two chicken cutlets, one at a time.
- Always drain your fried food on kitchen towels to absorb excess grease. This is also to prevent them from getting soggy if not eaten immediately.
Alternatively, invest in a good deep fryer that will save you a lot of hassle especially if you tend to fry a lot at home.
Enjoy this recipe!
Chicken Katsudon Recipe
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 boneless & skinless chicken breasts (approx. 300g), pat dry with kitchen towels
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose plain flour
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
sunflower oil for frying
For the sauce:
200ml dashi stock
1 1/2 tsp mirin
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1 yellow onion, peeled & sliced
4 eggs, lightly beaten in 2 separate bowls (2 eggs per bowl)
Instructions
1. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Dredge the chicken in flour and shake off the excess.
3. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and coat fully with panko breadcrumbs. Place on a clean dry plate.
4. Heat oil in pan and shallow fry the chicken till exterior is golden brown and crispy. Transfer onto kitchen towels to remove excess grease.
5. When the chicken has cooled slightly, slice into pieces.
6. To make the sauce, combine dashi stock, mirin, dark and light soy sauces in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
7. Add onions and reduce heat to simmer for about 5 minutes. Split this onion mixture into two equal portions (separate sauce pans).
8. Pour 1 bowl of egg mixture into 1 portion of the onion mixture and place the sliced chicken in the middle. Repeat with the other portion of onion mixture.
9. Allow the egg to cook slightly and turn off the heat.
10. Transfer the chicken and egg mixture on top of steamed rice.
11. Garnish with spring onions and serve.