There's really nothing like a deep-fried chicken curry. Crispy breaded meat coated in curry sauce is a heavenly combination. This Japanese katsu curry recipe makes deep frying chicken at home really easy and delicious, and it's the best katsu curry recipe for creating a homemade takeaway.

Big Flavours, Small Budgets – A series of tips and recipes from leading chefs, brands and foodies that show how to create delicious food on a budget.

Notes

Serves: 4

Difficulty: easy

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking temperatures: 180 °C for the oil, 74 °C for the chicken

What is chicken katsu curry?

Katsu curry is a Japanese dish. It consists of chicken or pork fried in panko breadcrumbs, topped with a katsu curry sauce. The sauce is creamy, rich in flavour and mildly spicy. The meat has a lovely crunchy crust and juicy centre.

What to serve with katsu curry?

Katsu curry is usually served with a big pile of sticky Japanese steamed rice. It also goes nicely with some fresh salad like ribboned cucumbers, carrots and lime wedges. In this Japanese katsucurry recipe, we added sugar snap peas and chopped fresh red chilli too.

How to deep fry chicken at home?

Creating delicious, crunchy fried chicken at home is easy. You don't need a deep fryer; just a large pan will do. Simply fill the pan up with enough cooking oil to fry your chicken and heat it to 180 °C.

Keep an eye on the temperature with a cooking thermometer like our Thermapen ONE, ensuring it doesn't drop below 180 °C as your chicken cooks.

The oil temperature is key to getting that crispy crust. And with your instant-read thermometer on hand, you'll be able to check your chicken as well. As soon as it hits 74 °C it will be safe to eat and nice and juicy too.

Ingredients

For the curry sauce

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil or vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped, plus 1 peeled into ribbons
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp medium or mild curry powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 400ml can of coconut milk
• 2 tsp maple syrup or honey
• 100ml water

For the chicken

• 4 skinless chicken breasts, each cut diagonally in two
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 300g panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Directions

To make the curry sauce

• Heat the oil in a pan. Cook the onions and chopped carrots until the onions are soft and starting to caramelise.
• Add the garlic and ginger and gently fry for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the curry powder and turmeric, then add the coconut milk, maple syrup and water.
• Season well, cover and simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool slightly cool before blitzing with a hand blender until smooth.

To make the chicken

• Fill a large pan with enough cooking oil to deep fry your chicken.
• Heat to 180 °C, then turn the hob down to maintain a steady heat. Monitor the temperature of the oil using your Thermapen thermometer to ensure it stays around 180 °C.
• Dip each piece of chicken into the beaten egg, then coat it with the panko breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess. Repeat this step so that each piece of chicken has two layers of egg and breadcrumbs.
• Once the oil is hot, gently place each piece of the breaded chicken into the pan, deep frying until both sides are golden brown and the chicken reads an internal temperature of 74 °C on your thermometer.

• While the chicken cooks, reheat your katsu sauce if it's no longer hot. Serve the chicken and sauce with sticky rice, fresh red chilli and sugar snap peas.

Laura Tulloch

Thermapen Chef & Caterer

@laura_sussexfoodie

"I love my Thermapen, it really helps me cook with confidence. As a caterer the health and safety of everyone you cook for is paramount, but that doesn't mean you have to compromise with your cooking. A simple reassuring check with the Thermapen throughout the process is all that's needed to allow you to enjoy, and confidently serve what you've made."