Japanese Curry with Chicken Katsu (チキンカツカレーライス) Recipe

And the sweet scent of curry sweeps the room, so very delicious...

Japanese Curry with Chicken Katsu
Fragrant Japanese-style curry with a crispy fried chicken breast
> Origin: Japanese
> Cost: Inexpensive
> Ease: Moderate

Japanese curry is bomb :D! It tends to be a bit thicker than curries from other cultures. It also tends to be more on the fragrant and sweet side, rather than awesomely spicy. In fact, a lot of the time, Japanese curry comes in premade cubes that you can buy at the local grocery store. Those tastes pretty good, but something about homemade is always better, right? In addition, you can adjust the taste to your liking. In other words, the salt or spice level is all up to your taste! Though those premade cubes really do save a lot of trouble, but if you don’t buy them on sale, it’s definitely more costly. Cost for time? Convenience for taste? Sometimes, it’s hard to decide…. If it’s cost versus time, as a student, I shouldn’t even be eating curry then! 

Ingredients:
Chicken Katsu 

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves (pounded to desired thickness)
• Thinner is better :D
• 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil (for frying) 

Japanese Curry

• 4 medium potatoes, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups water
• 2 chicken boullion cubes
• 5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cups of flour or 1/8 cup of cornstarch
• ~4 tbsp curry powder

Methods:
Japanese Curry 

1. In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil. Sauté onion and garlic until softened.
2. Add the carrots and potatoes, stir a few times, and then add the water and boullion. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. While the meat is cooking, make a roux out of the remaining 3 Tbsp oil and the flour: heat oil in a medium skillet until shimmering. Over low-medium heat, add flour and stir, cooking until the flour is blended and takes on a pale golden hue.
4. Add curry powder and chili powder, using the back of the spatula to blend it into the roux. The mixture will be powdery and dry.
5. Take 1/2 C of the hot liquid from the meat pot and slowly add it to the curry-roux mixture, stiring constantly to form a smooth paste.
6. By spoonfuls, add the curry paste back to the first mixture, stirring to dissolve. Add salt.
7. Simmer the curry for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the beef and vegetables are tender.
8. While curry is finishing up, bring rice and water to a boil in a pot, immediately reduce heat to low, cover the pot with its lid, and cook for 20 minutes.
9. Serve curry with rice in shallow bowls. There should be approximately twice as much curry as rice in the bowl.

Chicken Katsu:

1. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
2. Season flattened chicken with salt & pepper. Dip flattened chicken pieces first into flour, then egg, and lastly bread crumbs.
3. Fry breaded chicken breasts in preheated oil until golden brown and no longer pink in center, about 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. 
5. After excess oil has been observed, serve whole or cut into slices with the curry.