Chicken Katsu

Make this ultra-crispy, juicy, and delicious Japanese chicken katsu at home in under 15 minutes! Pair this chicken katsu recipe with tonkatsu sauce, a steaming bowl of white rice, and some crisp shredded cabbage for the most satisfying weeknight meal.

Course Lunch & Dinner Recipes, Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword chicken katsu, chicken katsu recipe, japanese chicken cutlet, japanese chicken katsu, japanese panko chicken, katsu chicken recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings

Calories 528kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts lightly pounded
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 egg lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 cups vegetable oil

Serve

Katsu sauce
Shredded cabbage
Rice

Instructions

Butterfly the chicken. Butterfly the chicken by slicing the breast horizontally along the long side of the chicken from one side leaving the other intact.
Tenderize and season the chicken. Fold out the chicken, and lightly pound the chicken to tenderize until it is about 1/2 inch thick then season both sides with salt and pepper.
Prepare the breading. Prepare three shallow dishes, 1) with flour, 2) with the lightly beaten egg and 3) with panko bread crumbs.
Coat the chicken. Thoroughly coat both sides of the chicken with flour, then the beaten eggs, and lastly the panko bread crumbs. Shake off any excess between each step and make sure to press on the panko bread crumbs to thoroughly coat the chicken.
Fry. In a medium-sized deep pan, heat up about 1-2 inches of vegetable or any neutral oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 340°F or 170°C. Place one coated chicken katsu into the oil and cook for 3 minutes before flipping and cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Cook the chicken until golden brown.
Serve. Let the chicken cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing into strips. Serve with rice, shredded cabbage and katsu sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

Tenderize your chicken! This ensures even cooking time for your chicken. Tenderizing the chicken creates an even thickness throughout your chicken breast and yields more tender, juicer, and tastier meat.
Bring your chicken breast to room temperature. About 30 minutes before cooking the chicken cutlet, I recommend taking the chicken out of the refrigerator and bringing the chicken to room temperature so that the chicken can cook more evenly.
Dust off excess flour and panko. When breading the chicken breast, firmly press the flour and panko breadcrumbs onto the chicken to thoroughly coat it. Then lift the chicken and shake off any excess to prevent the breading from falling off when you fry the chicken.
Use a candy thermometer to monitor the oil temperature. I HIGHLY recommend placing a thermometer inside your skillet to monitor the oil temperature at all times. Too hot—may burn the breading before the chicken finishes cooking. Too cold—the chicken katsu will be overly greasy and hold too much oil. The optimal oil temperature you want to maintain is 340 ºF (170 ºC).
Scoop up the fallen panko crumbs. In between each batch of katsu chicken, scoop out the fallen breadcrumbs in the oil to prevent them from burning in the oil and changing the flavor of the oil.
Cool on a wire rack. Before serving, I recommend cooling the chicken cutlet on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes so that the excess oil can drip off and prevent the crispy crust from getting soggy.
Storage Instructions: this recipe is best served immediately for the ultimate crunch. However, you can store any leftover chicken cutlet in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, the best way to maintain the crispy outer layer is to heat it in the oven at 350ºF (176 ºC) until warm.

Nutrition