Chicken Katsu Recipe, also known as crispy panko chicken is a popular Japanese dish. This Katsu chicken is made with boneless chicken, flour, egg, spices,panko to create the crispy fried chicken. After many attempts, I have found the perfect recipe for the crispiest chicken katsu ever.
Chicken katsu
Over the years I have made this chicken katsu dish hundreds of time, It is a family favorite. After many attempts, I have discovered the perfect recipe for the crispiest chicken katsu. So here it is for you.
Personally I have tried many version of chicken katsu during our Japan trip, and I can tell you this recipe is the best of all. Try it once, and you will be making it over and over again.
About Chicken Katsu
Chicken katsu, also known as panko chicken, or tori katsu is a Japanese dish of fried chicken made with panko bread crumbs which is also popular on other areas of the world.
Traditionally the most popular katsu is made with pork cutlets, also known as Tonkatsu. Since this is made with chicken it is called as Tori katsu. Tori Katsu literally translates to chicken katsu, in which tori means chicken and katsu means cutlet.
Traditional recipe includes, dredging pounded chicken cutlets in flour, then dipping them in egg wash and coating with panko. This chicken is then fried in oil till crispy. This is the basic classic recipe for chicken katsu.
But my version is slightly different and I can assure you, it is the best and makes the chicken super crispy and flavourful. You will love my Vegetable Tempura and Japanese Mayonnaise. Also check out recipe for sticky rice recipe to serve with this.
Similar Recipes
Chicken thigh is used in making katsu, because it is more juicy and succulent than breast. But I prefer chicken breast, because it is more affordable and healthy. I follow a simple hack to make the juiciest chicken breast.
How to Prepare Chicken for Chicken Katsu
Take boneless chicken breast, pat them dry with paper towel. Place on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice it in the middle, so it opens like a book. You call this technique as butterfly.
Now cpover the top with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Now use a meat mallet and bash the chicken slightly to make it even and thin. Remove the plastic wrap and you can use the chicken as whole, or cut it in half so you get two pieces of chicken breast from one.
This pounding method makes the chicken breast super juicy and moist when fried.
Why My Chicken Katsu is the Best!
I am stressing it so much, because I know this is the best chicken katsu ever. The seasoned flour and egg coating helps the breadcrumbs stick better, once fried it gets super crispy and stays crispy longer.
Unlike the egg coating, which can make the chicken get soggy as it sits. But this chicken katsu stays crispy for a longer time.
I also seasoned the batter with Japanese curry powder which gives an authentic Japanese taste to your chicken katsu. Along with the curry powder, i also added garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. These combination of spices made the chicken super flavourful.
Also take care when frying the chicken, always fry on medium high heat so the outer gets super crispy.
Katsu is a popular kids friendly chicken dish, since it is crispy and fried with bread crumb coating it will be your kids favorite.
Chicken katsu is served with shredded cabbage, Japanese mayonnaise (kewpie mayo) and tonkatsu sauce. It is a popular Japanese dipping sauce. Tonkatsu sauce is made with a combination of ketchup, worcestershire sauce, sugar and oyster sauce.
We like to serve katsu along with some lettuce, cabbage salad and rice.
Ingredients
- Chicken - I used boneless chicken breast for katsu. You can use chicken thigh also. Prepare the chicken as mentioned below to make it juicy.
- Seasonings - traditionally salt and pepper is used. but I like to season my chicken with garlic powder, paprika, Japanese curry powder, salt and pepper.
- Flour Mix - a combination of plain flour and cornstarch is used to create the batter which make the chicken katsu super crispy.
- Egg - you need to use one large egg to bind the chicken batter.
- Breadcrumbs - panko, Japanese style flaky breadcrumbs gives crispiest chicken. If you don't have panko, the next best choice would be freshly pulverised white bread.
Step by Step Pictures
Preparing Chicken
1)Take couple of boneless chicken breast. Pat them dry completely with paper towel. Take them on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to butterfly the chicken breast so it opens like a book.
2)Place another sheet of plastic wrap or parchment on top and use a meat mallet or a rolling pin to gently smash the chicken breast so it gets slightly thin and in even thickness.
3)Remove the plastic wrap and this is how the chicken looks like. Now you can keep it as it is for one big chicken katsu. Or slice it in half so each chicken breast gives you 2 chicken cutlets.
Make batter
4)Take plain flour and cornstarch in a bowl.
5)Add in your seasoning ingredients. That is totally to your wish. I used garlic powder, Japanese curry powder, salt, black pepper powder and paprika. Once the seasonings are added, mix it really well.
6)Crack open one egg and add it into the flour mix. Mix the egg into the flour. If the batter is too thick, you can add a splash of water and mix well.
7)The batter has to be sligthly pourable consistency.
Coating Chicken
8)Now take your chicken cutlets and drop into the batter.
9)Coat the chicken on both sides, so each side is coated with the batter.
10)Drop the chicken on some panko breadcrumbs.
11)Coat both sides of the chicken in panko really well.
12)Once it is well coated, remove the chicken and place it on a wire rack while you heat the oil.
Frying Chicken
13)Heat neutral cooking oil in a pan and place it on medium high heat. Let the oil get hot. If you insert a chopstick into the oil, you will see small bubbles around the chopsticks which indicates the oil is at the right temperature.
14)Drop the chicken into the oil. The chicken should be completely immersed in the oil. So it fries from all sides.
15)Let the chicken fry on medium high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. It will get golden brown in colour.
16)Remove the fried katsu from oil. It should be super crispy and crunchy.
17)After every batch, use a skimmer to remove any fried crumbs from the oil. So it doesn't burn.
18)I dropped the half chicken cutlets into the oil and fried that for 3 to 4 minutes.
19)Once fried, remove it from oil.
20)Place the chicken katsu onto a wire rack so it doesn't get soggy. Let it sit for 3 to 4 minutes before serving. Cut into slices and serve.
Expert Tips
- Traditionally chicken thigh portion is used for making chicken katsu. You can use boneless chicken breast also.
- Slice the chicken in the middle so it opens up like a book. So you get two fillets of chicken breast from one chicken. This way it cooks faster.
- If you don't have a meat mallet to bash the chicken, you can use a rolling pin.
- Fry chicken on medium heat so it gets golden and crispy. if you cook on super high heat, the chicken coating will darken before the chicken is fully cooked.
- Don't over cook the chicken else it will get dry.
FAQ
Chicken katsu is panko crusted fried chicken which is similar to chicken cutlets.
Use Japanese style panko breadcrumbs for best taste and crisp texture. It helps attain more crispy texture in the chicken than regular breadcrumbs.
Panko is a variety of flaky bread crumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods, such as tonkatsu. Panko is made from bread baked by electrical current, which yields a bread without a crust, and then grinding the bread to create fine slivers of crumb.
📖 Get Recipe
Super Crispy Chicken Katsu Recipe (Crispiest Katsu Chicken Tips)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large Boneless chicken breast
- Sunflower oil for Deep frying
For Batter
- 2 tablespoon Plain flour
- 4 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 large Egg
- 3 tablespoon Water or as needed
For Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Japanese curry powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper powder
For Coating
- 2 cups Panko Breadcrumbs or as needed
Instructions
- Preparing Chicken - Take couple of boneless chicken breast. Pat them dry completely with paper towel. Take them on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to butterfly the chicken breast so it opens like a book.
- Place another sheet of plastic wrap or parchment on top and use a meat mallet or a rolling pin to gently smash the chicken breast so it gets slightly thin and in even thickness.
- Remove the plastic wrap and this is how the chicken looks like. Now you can keep it as it is for one big chicken katsu. Or slice it in half so each chicken breast gives you 2 chicken cutlets. Set aside till needed.
- Make Batter - Take plain flour, cornstarch, seasonings, salt, pepper in a bowl and mix well. Add in egg and mix to a batter, add little water at a time to make a slightly thin batter. The batter has to be sligthly pourable consistency.
- Coating Chicken - Now take your chicken cutlets and drop into the batter. Coat the chicken on both sides, so each side is coated with the batter.
- Take the chicken from batter, let the excess batter drip off, Drop the chicken on some panko breadcrumbs. Coat both sides of the chicken in panko really well. Once it is well coated, remove the chicken and place it on a wire rack.
- Frying Chicken - Heat neutral cooking oil in a pan and place it on medium high heat. Let the oil get hot. If you insert a chopstick into the oil, you will see small bubbles around the chopsticks which indicates the oil is at the right temperature.
- Drop the chicken into the oil. The chicken should be completely immersed in the oil. So it fries from all sides. Let the chicken fry on medium high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. It will get golden brown in colour. Remove the fried katsu from oil. It should be super crispy and crunchy. Place on a wire rack.
- After every batch, use a skimmer to remove any fried crumbs from the oil. So it doesn't burn.
- Continue with remaining batch. Once fried, let it sit for 3 minutes before slicing. Serve.
Leave a Reply