Loaf and PsalmA journal from an improving homemaker

Japanese · All year

Chicken Katsu Curry

Japanese curry, sweet from onions and apple, with the cutlet set on rice. A butter roux, not a boxed block.

About 1 hour 15 minutes · Serves 6 · 6 plates

Japanese curry with potato and carrot, rice, and sliced chicken katsu

“It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.”

Ecclesiastes 3:13

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Japanese short-grain rice, rinsed
  • 2 ¼ cups water, for the rice
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp butter, for the onions
  • 2 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp butter, for the roux
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 small apple, grated
  • 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp fine salt, for the chicken
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 ½ cups avocado oil, for frying the chicken

Method

Making Chicken Katsu Curry: Start the rice. Put the rinsed rice and water in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, then cover and cook on…
Start the rice. Put the rinsed rice and water in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, then cover and cook on…
Making Chicken Katsu Curry: While they simmer, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Stir in the flour and cook 2…
While they simmer, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Stir in the flour and cook 2…
  1. 1

    Start the rice. Put the rinsed rice and water in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, then cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the lid on for 10 minutes. Do not stir it.

  2. 2

    Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy pot. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-low, stirring now and then, until they are deep gold, 15 to 20 minutes. Japanese curry gets its sweetness here. Pale onions make a thin, sharp curry.

  3. 3

    Add the carrots, potatoes, and broth. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

  4. 4

    While they simmer, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, until it smells like a biscuit and not like raw flour. Stir in the curry powder and garam masala for 30 seconds. Do not let the spices turn black.

  5. 5

    Whisk that roux into the pot. Add the soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, apple, and salt. Simmer gently 8 to 10 minutes, until a spoon dragged through the curry leaves a slow path. If it is stiff, loosen it with a splash of broth. Do not boil it hard after the roux goes in.

  6. 6

    Fry the chicken as in Chicken Katsu with Katsu Sauce: pound, salt and pepper, flour, egg, panko, then avocado oil until the center reads 165°F. Rest, then slice. If the cutlets are already fried, warm them a few minutes in a low oven so the crust crackles again.

  7. 7

    Put rice in each bowl. Ladle the curry beside it, and lay the sliced katsu across the rice. Leave most of the crust uncovered. The curry is the sauce on this plate. You do not also need the katsu sauce.

From the kitchen

  • A boxed Japanese curry roux is convenient, and many of those blocks are made with vegetable oil. The butter and flour here are the roux, so the pot stays with butter.
  • Use a mild curry powder. A Japanese blend is ideal. Garam masala is only a teaspoon, for depth. If it becomes the main flavor, the curry tastes like a different country.
  • The curry is better the next day. The crust is not. Fry the chicken when you are ready to eat.

My note

Kept on this device, beside the recipe, for the next time you cook it.

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