This Hairy Bikers katsu curry recipe fries flattened, panko-crusted chicken breasts until crisp, then slices them over rice with a smooth curry sauce. And the Great Curries version serves 4 in about 1¼ hours, at roughly 600 calories each before rice by my estimate.
Their own summary is “Bruce Lee meets Colonel Sanders”, and after experimenting with lots of variations they call this one their favourite. And ½ teaspoon of ground star anise is the likely source of the aniseedy note they mention, though the book doesn’t say so.
I think bashing each breast to an even depth matters most, since Asian Adventure flattens its katsu chicken so it cooks evenly. Then a 30 to 60 minute chill, if you have time, lets the crumb coating set before it meets the hot oil.
Hairy Bikers Katsu Curry Recipe
Description
Softened onion, ginger and garlic meet curry powder, star anise and turmeric, then flour and stock make a sauce that’s blitzed smooth. Once that’s set aside, the chicken is flattened, dipped in flour, egg and panko, then fried two at a time and sliced thickly.
Ingredients
For the sauce
For the chicken
To serve
Instructions
- Soften the onions: Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan, add the onions, cover and fry gently for 8 to 10 minutes until well softened, stirring occasionally. Then take off the lid, turn the heat up a little and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring often, until pale golden.
- Add the aromatics: Reduce the heat, add the ginger and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the curry powder, star anise, turmeric and a few twists of black pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Thicken the sauce: Sprinkle over the flour and stir well, then gradually add the stock, stirring constantly. Next add the tomato purée, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Blitz: Take the pan off the heat and blitz with a stick blender until smooth, or cool it slightly and use a food processor. Then cover and set aside while you prepare the chicken.
- Flatten the chicken: Cover each breast with cling film and bash the thickest part with a rolling pin, until it’s an even depth of just under 2cm.
- Coat: Sift the flour onto a plate, beat the egg in a bowl and scatter half the breadcrumbs over a small tray. Then dust each breast in flour, shake off the excess, dip it in egg and coat it in crumbs, then set it on a tray. And add the reserved crumbs after the first 2.
- Chill: If you have time, chill the coated chicken for 30 to 60 minutes so the coating sets.
- Fry: Heat the oil in a deep non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, but never let it overheat or leave it unattended. Then lower 2 breasts in with tongs and fry for 5 to 6 minutes a side, until crisp, golden and no longer pink inside. After that, keep them warm while you fry the other 2.
- Serve: About 5 minutes before the chicken is ready, warm the sauce over a low heat, stirring constantly, and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Then slice the chicken thickly and serve on warmed plates with the rice and sauce, or put the sauce in small dishes alongside.
FAQs
How is their Asian Adventure katsu curry different?
Their chicken shichimi katsu curry toasts coriander, cumin and fennel seeds with cardamom pods, then grinds them with garam masala for a coconut milk sauce. And a teaspoon of that spice mix goes into the coating flour, along with shichimi, the Japanese 7-spice seasoning.
So I’d expect it to taste more fragrant than the Great Curries sauce, which leans on curry powder and star anise. And it fries in oil about 1.25cm deep at around 180°C, for 4 to 5 minutes a side.
Is there a lighter Hairy Dieters katsu?
Yes, Make It Easy has a chicken katsu at 217 calories a portion before rice, built on ready-cooked chicken escalopes from elsewhere in the book. But its sauce gets its body from puréed carrots and mushrooms rather than flour, with honey and soy sauce.
And their tip is to serve it the Japanese way, on shredded white cabbage instead of rice, which they say is much lower in calories.
Is there a vegetarian aubergine katsu?
Yes, Veggie Feasts has an aubergine katsu, where 1cm slices go through a flour and water batter, then panko, then into the oven. So they bake rather than fry because aubergines soak up so much oil, though they say you can deep-fry if you’d rather.
Its sauce adds sweet potato, mango chutney, ketchup and maple syrup, and it comes with quick radish and cucumber pickles.
Can you make the sauce ahead?
Great Curries and Asian Adventure both make the sauce first and reheat it later, so it waits while the chicken is fried. And the Asian Adventure recipe says to loosen it with a splash of water if it thickens too much.
Beyond the same day, I’d keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days, though neither book gives a keeping time.
What else do they make katsu-style?
Chicken & Egg’s chicken katsu donburi cooks fried chicken with eggs in a dashi, soy and mirin broth, then serves it over rice. And Asian Adventure adds tonkatsu pork with its own ketchup-based tonkatsu sauce, plus prawn and menchi katsu burgers.
Everyday Winners crumbs thin breast escalopes for its katsu burgers, which I cover on the Hairy Bikers chicken burgers page. But for something quicker with no crumbing, their Great Curries quick chicken madras takes about 30 minutes. And for a fakeaway, the takeaway-style Chinese chicken curry borrows the sauce from their Asian Adventure beef curry.
