After having seen the kids being served some beautiful fresh home-made “Pouletknüsperli” in Switzerland, I recalled this recipe of this kids-friendly Japanese “chicken nugget curry” to try when back at home.
The recipe is from the excellent and entertaining food blog Reluctant House Dad that I found in my Search of Perfection (recipes of Heston Blumenthal’s Perfect Spaghetti Bolognese that is).
UPDATE: The RHD site is down, but I got the recipe over here
A katsu curry is a mix of onion, garlic, and carrot, thickened with mild curry powder, garam masala, and flour. The sauce is simmered down after adding soy sauce and chicken stock and finally smoothened using a stick blender.
Always a lot of work and washing up when making fried chicken yourself, but it really pays off: the panko crusted chicken was still very succulent, and did not absorb too much fat while frying.
The katsu curry itself was delicious and relatively easy to make. Although the spices are primary from Indian cuisine, the addition of the soy sauce did give it a Japanese twist. It also coated the soba noodles nicely, so you can use it stand alone as basis sauce for your wok noodles and add some more vegetables.
Recipe accuracy:
The recipe was easy to follow, and the measures of ingredients work well together. Overall, it does take some time to prepare as the breaded chicken should rest in the fridge before frying, and you will need about 30-40 minutes to make and simmer down the Katsu curry. The quantity is sufficient to serve 4.
Suggested tweaks:
The one thing that I underestimated was the amount of seasoning to be added to the flour mix for breading the chicken breasts. A dash of shichimi togarashi and/or some garlic powder would bring some more Asian flavors to the coating for the chicken.
Verdict: 9/10; Will definitely be made again
ARCISFOODBLOG 