The Ultimate Chicken Katsu Recipe

Hi everyone, it's Yuto from SachiRecipes.com and today I'm going to show you how to make the ultimate crispy katsu using chicken thigh. I'm also going to show you how to make a delicious homemade sauce with sesame seeds, so let's get started. I'm going to start by making the sauce, so grab a pan and heat on medium. Add 15g of white sesame seeds, that's a little less than 2 tablespoons. We're just going to toast these until they release a sesame aroma and change colour slightly. It should only take a few minutes. Make sure to keep swirling the pan so that they toast evenly and don't burn. Once you can smell the sesame aroma, transfer them to a mortar and pestle. We're going to grind them until we have a sesame powder. If you don't have one, you could use a food processor instead. Grinding the sesame seeds helps release more flavour. Once it's fine like this, transfer it to a small bowl and add 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of sugar, 4 teaspoons of water and a tablespoon of ketchup. As you can probably guess, this isn't a traditional katsu sauce, but it's rich and nutty. It tastes really great on this katsu. Mix it up and that's it. A katsu sauce with a unique and delicious sesame flavour. Set it aside for later and now we'll make the katsu. For 3 to 4 servings, you will need 2 large boneless chicken thighs, approximately 600g, some pepper, 6 tablespoons of cake flour, 100ml of water, 2 eggs, 100g of flour, 100g of panko breadcrumbs, oil for deep frying or shallow frying. So I've got my chicken thighs here and now I'm just cutting each one into 5 rough pieces. I like to leave the skin on, but that's up to you. I usually skip tenderising the meat when I use chicken thigh. It's already juicy and tender so it doesn't really need extra work, unlike chicken breast or pork loins, which are quite lean and can become tough. To be honest, using chicken thigh makes it taste a bit like a cross between karaage and katsu. That's why I love this dish. Next, sprinkle it with some salt and pepper. Then we coat it in flour. I like to use cake flour because it's light. You could use cornstarch or plain all-purpose flour if you don't have cake flour available. We'll be making a batter next and this coating of flour just helps the batter stick to the surface of the chicken. Make sure all the pieces are well covered like this and then we can move on to making the batter. Take a large bowl and add 100ml of cold water and 2 eggs. We're just going to whisk it until they're combined. Katsu recipes usually require a layer of flour, a layer of egg and then a layer of panko breadcrumbs, but I like to make a batter because it makes the crust thicker and crunchier. I also find breadcrumbs stick better and it works for everything, especially chicken. Then gradually add 100g of plain flour. I tend to mix things with chopsticks out of habit, but to be honest, it's better to use a whisk for this. Finally, we're going to dip the chicken into this batter and then coat it in the panko breadcrumbs. Make sure it's well covered and then place it into the oil. This oil has been preheated to 170°C, which is about 340°F. Just fry the katsu for 3-4 minutes on each side until they're crispy and golden. The cooking time also depends on how thick your chicken thigh pieces are. If your pieces are thick, just cook for a little longer. It's important to be accurate with the temperature. If it's too low, the katsu becomes overcooked in the middle and pale on the outside. It also tends to get greasy. On the other hand, if the heat is too high, the breadcrumbs cook too quickly and might burn while the chicken is not cooked all the way through. You have to be quite careful. Saying this, if you're using an electric stove like this, it might be better to heat it slightly higher than 170°C because when you add the chicken to the oil, it lowers temperature and electric takes a bit longer to bring it back up to the right heat. The best advice I can give is to listen to the oil. When it's loud, that means the oil is reacting to the moisture inside the meat and it's not cooked inside. When it becomes quiet, it's cooked through. Okay, these are done, so transfer them to a wire rack and then we can dish up. Chicken katsu in Japan is usually served with cabbage, rice and miso soup as a teishoku lunch set. But you can use it for curry, katsudon or however you like. Drizzle it with the homemade sauce and there you have it. Delicious Japanese chicken katsu made with chicken thigh and flavoured with a nutty homemade katsu sauce. Thank you very much for watching. If you like this recipe, don't forget to hit the like button and if you're interested in seeing more tasty Japanese recipes, subscribe to my channel. I really appreciate your support. Hope to see you next time. Have a great day. Thank you for watching.