What's For Dinner: Chicken Katsu Curry

I love eating Asian food, but I don't eat out enough to satisfy my cravings. So I decided to give one of my favorites a try: Japanese Curry. The hardest part was finding a recipe that actually looked like what I wanted to make (and had at least half-way normal sounding ingredients). 

 

Anyway, after hours of recipe searching, ingredient checking, and finally actual food making, here's what happened... 

 

Over all I am very pleased with how it turned out! I changed the recipes some, so I'll put the original sites at the end of the post so you can check those out if you want.   

First I had to make some Garam Masala, a traditional Asian spice blend, because that seems to be a staple in Japanese Curry. This recipe turned out to be amazing: 

Garam Masala

1TB ground cumin
1 1/2tsp ground coriander
1 1/2tsp cardamom
1 1/2tsp ground black pepper
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp ground cloves
1/2tsp ground nutmeg

Mix together and store in an airtight container.  

  

 

 

Curry Sauce

 

1/4c. bacon fat
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
Garlic (the recipe calls for 5 cloves but I totally forgot to add it, so I don't know if that's the right amount or not... it tasted fine without)
6 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
6TBS white flour
4TBS curry powder (3TBS might be enough for some, though)
7 1/2c. beef stock
1/3c. honey
1/4c. soy sauce
3 bay leaves
1TBS garam masala (aren't you glad you made some??)

Heat bacon fat in Dutch oven (or stock pot of your choice) and add onion and garlic (if using) and cook until softened. Stir in carrots and cook over medium/low heat for 10-12 minutes.

Add flour and curry powder; cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in stock until combined; add honey and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Sauce should thicken to a light gravy consistency.) 

Strain out the onions and carrots and blend them in a food processor until smooth. Return to the pot with the rest of the sauce. Stir in garam masala and bay leaves. Boil for another 20 minutes or until thickened sufficiently (you can decide how thick you want it).

 

 

Chicken Katsu

12 thin chicken breasts (I used about 9 and cut the thick ones in half so they were thinner)
1/2-1c. of milk
1c. white flour
Salt
Pepper
Vegetable oil

 

Dunk chicken in milk and then coat with flour. Fry on both sides over medium heat until crispy on the outside and cooked through. 

 

Serve It

I sliced the chicken breast, laid it on a bed of brown rice, and poured a generous amount of sauce over the top. The family loved it! There was plenty of sauce left over, so if you wanted to make a bigger batch it would probably be good up to 15-17 chicken breasts.

Serves about 10 adults.     

 

 

Chicken Katsu Curry (original recipe)

Garam Masala (recipe)