Chicken Katsu with curry sauce

Chicken Katsu is a japanese version of fried chicken and when you serve it with curry sauce, it becomes a beautiful marriage of japanese and south east asian flavours. Here is how I make mine:

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts                    4 pcs

Oil                                       2 cups for frying

Flour mixture

Flour                                     1 cup
Salt                                       1/4 tsp
Red chilli                               1/4 tsp

Egg mixture

Egg                                       2
Salt                                       2 pinches

Bread Crumb/Panko mix

Panko crumbs                       1 1/2 cup
Salt                                       1/4 tsp
Red chilli                               1/4 tsp

Method

Put flour in a bowl and add salt and red chilli powder. Mix well and keep aside.
Beat the egg with salt and keep aside.
Mix panko, salt and chilli and keep them in a separate plate.
Put one chicken breast on cutting board and with the help of meat tenderizer (the hammer look alike tool) pound them to get half an inch evenly thick pieces.
Make the assembly line in the sequence of flour mixture, followed by egg and then the panko mix.
Coat the chicken breast in flour and dust the excess flour off.
Dip in the egg mixture and then coat them in panko mix.
Put them in the baking sheet and refrigerate for 40 mins, refrigeration helps the coating to stick to the chicken during frying as well as you end with a crunchier chicken.
Once fried cut them in thin strips before serving them over rice. 

Curry sauce 

Ingredients

Onion 1 finely chopped
Garlic 4 cloves crushed
Ginger 1 inch crushed
Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Salt 3/4 tsp
Sugar 1 1/2 tsp
Chicken stock 2 cups
Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp
Oil 1 tbsp
Flour 2 tbsp

Method

In a heavy bottom pot add oil and onions, fry till they become translucent about 4 mins.
Add flour and fry till the flour is toasted, for 2-3 mins.
Add ginger, garlic and spices and toast for another one min.
Add the stock slowly while stirring continuously as u want to avoid any lumps.
Once it comes to boil slow down the heat and let cook for 10 mins covered. 

Add sugar and taste for the salt and heat.
Use a hand blender or regular mixer, puree the sauce well. You can pass it though sieve if u really want a smooth sauce.
For plating , spread the rice in the plate, add chicken and then pour the sauce over.

Note:

Panko is Japanese version of bread crumbs.
Once the sauce is ready, you can start frying the chicken as it only takes 4-5 mins on each side for thin pieces.

This recipe is for four people so i used around two cups of rice.