Tender and Moist Chicken Katsu

Ingredients

• If grating an onion is too much trouble, you can mix 1 tbsp minced garlic with about 6 tbsp water and spread it evenly over the meat.
• If you do not have chili sauce, add about 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste) and adjust the flavor by increasing the ketchup or adding sugar.

Steps

1. 
   

   1. Here is the chicken breast taken while prepping one large whole chicken.

   Without cutting the belly in half, I carve out the breast portion as is and freeze it to use whenever needed.

   If buying just chicken breast, about 300 g will be enough.

   2. Since it has almost no fat, leaving it thick might make the texture dry,

   so slice the meat thinly and pound it with the tip or back of a knife to make it as thin as possible.

   It grew nearly twice as large, so I cut it in half.

   Seasoning the meat removes the chicken smell and keeps the meat from tasting separate from the sauce, making it much more delicious.

   Dip it in finely grated onion juice and take it out, or if grating an onion is too much trouble,

   mix 1 tbsp minced garlic with about 6 tbsp water and spread it evenly over the meat. (I seasoned mine with garlic mixed with water.)

   Sprinkle a little salt and ground black pepper over it to finish seasoning.

2. 
3. 

   3. Coat the seasoned chicken breast evenly on both sides with flour, dip it into the beaten egg, and coat it thoroughly with breadcrumbs.

   At this point, mound plenty of breadcrumbs on the meat with your hands and press down firmly so the crumbs do not fall off.

   4. While coating with breadcrumbs, the meat got a bit thinner and also grew in size.

   One piece of chicken breast cut in half became this large. You get 2 cutlets of this size.

   If you use chicken breast—which many people avoid—like this, it turns into an ingredient you cannot get enough of.

4. 
5. 

   5. Now make the sauce. For a nice texture, slice a little onion and button mushrooms,

   and slice the garlic thinly so we can sauté it to enhance the flavor of the sauce.

   6. Heat oil in a heated pan, add the garlic, and sauté until fragrant.

6. 
7. 

   7. Add the onion and sauté briefly...

   8. Add the button mushrooms and sauté briefly as well...

8. 

   10

9. 

   9. Add the sauce ingredients—3 tbsp tonkatsu sauce, 2 tbsp chili sauce, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp mirin (cooking rice wine), and 1/2 cup anchovy broth or chicken broth or water—and simmer so the sauce comes together well.

   If you do not have chili sauce, add about 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste) and adjust the flavor by increasing the ketchup or adding sugar.

   10. Add potato starch slurry to adjust the thickness.

   Mix 1 tbsp potato starch slurry (1 tbsp potato starch to 1 tbsp water), drizzle it evenly over the simmering sauce, and stir.

   If the consistency is too thin, make a little more potato starch slurry and stir it in bit by bit.

   11

10. 

    12

11. 

    11. Taste the sauce, and if it feels bland to your palate, adjust by adding regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang).

    If you like it sweet, you can add sugar or corn syrup (mulyeot).

    12. Pour enough oil into the pan so the chicken breast is halfway submerged, and fry until crispy on both sides.

    After frying, drain on a strainer to remove excess oil.

12. 

    I tossed shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, and a little broccoli together,

    and for an ultra-simple dressing, I mixed ketchup with mayonnaise and drizzled it over top.

    The tonkatsu sauce is not greasy, but when eating meat, pairing it with a quick salad packed with vegetables makes it even more delicious.

Ppunwife's tips

• Mound plenty of breadcrumbs on the meat with your hands and press down firmly so the crumbs do not fall off.
• If the consistency is too thin, make a little more potato starch slurry and stir it in bit by bit.
• The tonkatsu sauce is not greasy, but when eating meat, pairing it with a quick salad packed with vegetables makes it even more delicious.

FAQ

Tags