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    The Heirloom Pantry » Recipe Index » Dinner

    Chicken Katsu (Japanese Chicken Cutlet)

    Published: Feb 16, 2021 · Modified: Nov 23, 2022 by Kathleen Higashiyama · The following content may contain affiliate links. When you click and shop the links, we receive a commission.

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    Chicken Katsu (Japanese Chicken Cutlet) The Heirloom Pantry

    Chicken Katsu (Japanese Chicken Cutlet) is a crispy, golden brown chicken cutlet that makes a great lunch or a weeknight dinner. This Japanese dish is commonly served with rice, vegetables, and tonkatsu sauce for dinner. Make it ahead of time for meal prep and enjoy for a Japanese restaurant experience at home!

    Chicken Katsu (Japanese Chicken Cutlet) on a plate with rice with lemon slices and and furikake.

    Chicken Katsu is a staple weeknight meal that can be made with just a few pantry ingredients and fresh chicken thighs or breast. It is often served with Tonkatsu Sauce, a Japanese vegetable-based sauce with umami flavor.

    Jump to:
    • What is Chicken Katsu?
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • What to Serve with Chicken Katsu
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top Tips
    • Did You Like This Recipe?
    • Chicken Katsu

    What is Chicken Katsu?

    Chicken Katsu is a fried Japanese chicken cutlet breaded with flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs. It is prepared using a dredging method and is then deep-fried until crispy and golden. Another popular katsu dish is tonkatsu, or Japanese pork cutlet.

    Chicken Katsu (Japanese Chicken Cutlet) ingredients.

    Ingredients

    The secret to delicious golden Chicken Katsu is the quality of its ingredients. Here are the key ingredients you need to make tender, crispy katsu:

    • Chicken thighs - Chicken thighs are the most tender cut for katsu. Trim the excess fat off of the thighs and tenderize them with a meat tenderizer to ensure they cook evenly. Chicken breast is also a good cut for katsu.
    • Panko breadcrumbs - Panko breadcrumbs are a Japanese pantry staple. They are light and crispy breadcrumbs that result in extra crunchy texture. Panko breadcrumbs are larger than traditional breadcrumbs. The increased surface area gives more area to fry and therefore, a crispier chicken.
    • Tonkatsu sauce - Tonkatsu sauce is an essential ingredient for Chicken Katsu and tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet). It consists of onions, apples, and carrots, and has a rich umami flavor. Bulldog Vegetable and Fruit Sauce is the best and most popular brand of Tonkatsu sauce. Find it online or at your local Japanese grocery store.

    Instructions

    • Tenderize the meat - Trim the fat off of the meat. Then, arrange a couple of chicken thighs in a flat layer inside of a gallon zip-top bag and remove as much air as possible. Use a meat tenderizer to gently pound until it is an even half-inch thickness. Remove the flattened chicken and set aside. Repeat to tenderize all of the chicken thighs.
    • Season the meat - Place the chicken in a large bowl and season the meat with kosher salt and black pepper.
    • Season the flour mixture - Place the panko and flour individual shallow dishes. In the flour dish, gently whisk in kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and togarashi.
    Flour, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and togarashi on plate.
    • Make the egg mixture - In a mixing bowl, add eggs and milk. Beat the eggs and milk mixture until homogeneous. You can also omit the milk and just use eggs.
    • Dredge the meat - Coat each piece of chicken with flour and brush off excess flour. Then dip each piece in the egg mixture. Finally, coat both sides of the each chicken piece in panko by pressing the chicken into the panko crumbs.
    Dredging Chicken and covering it in Panko before frying it.
    • Fry in oil - Heat 1 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place 2 or 3 pieces of chicken in the hot oil and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the chicken is golden brown. Carefully remove crumbs from the oil with a mesh skimmer or spoon so they do not burn the oil after each batch is fried.
    • Cool on rack - Transfer the fried chicken to a wire cooling rack or a paper towel-lined plate.
    Fried chicken katsu on cooling rack and baking sheet with lemons, tongs, and bulldog tonkatsu sauce.
    • Serve and enjoy - Serve the chicken immediately with Tonkatsu Sauce. You can also squeeze lemon juice on the chicken to add a light citrus flavor and acidity.

    What to Serve with Chicken Katsu

    Chicken Katsu is best with Japanese rice and a delicious side. It is common on top of a hot bowl of ramen, in a Chicken Katsu sandwich, and with Japanese curry and rice. If you are looking for sides recipes, check these out:

    • Furikake and Lemon Shishito Peppers
    • 10 -Minute Sautéed Broccolini (Broccoletti)
    • Spicy Kani Salad
    • Elotes Style Corn with Furikake
    • Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

    Substitutions

    • Pork - To make Tonkatsu (pork cutlet), use sliced pork loin instead of chicken thighs.
    • Salmon - Salmon Katsu is a healthier alternative to chicken and pork. In order to make Salmon Katsu, use a salmon fillet instead of chicken thighs.
    • Vegetarian - Replace chicken thighs with eggplant or tofu.

    Variations

    • Spicy - Mix in chili oil or sriracha to the Bulldog sauce.
    • Healthy - Enjoy this chicken katsu recipe with a simple side salad featuring your favorite dressing or prepared vegetable.
    • Gluten free - Use gluten free panko.
    • Deluxe - Serve your Chicken Katsu with Curry (Chicken Katsu Curry) for even more flavor and richness.

    Equipment

    Chicken Katsu requires a few kitchen essentials which can be used for many other common recipes. To make these chicken katsu, you will need a knife, cutting board, meat tenderizer, large zip-top bag, mixing bowls, like this glass mixing bowl set, shallow dishes, fry pan or dutch oven, fish spatula, and cooling rack.

    To explore more kitchen items to make your kitchen complete, head to our Kitchen Essentials Shop.

    Chicken Katsu cutlet with lemon wedges.

    Storage

    Store leftover chicken katsu in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Chicken Katsu is also easy to freeze for future meals. In order to freeze chicken katsu, place in an airtight zip-top bag or container to freeze up to 1 month.

    To heat the frozen Chicken Katsu, heat the oven to 350ºF and place the pieces of katsu on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until thoroughly warmed. Serve immediately with Tonkatsu Sauce.

    Top Tips

    • Don't overcrowd the skillet so you have enough room to flip the chicken over while it's cooking.
    • Be sure to tenderize the meat so the pieces to cook evenly.
    • Use a fish spatula because it is long and slotted, making it easier to pick up the chicken than it would be with a traditional spatula.

    Did You Like This Recipe?

    If you love this chicken cutlet recipe, check out these other chicken recipes:

    • Dutch Oven Whole Chicken with Meyer Lemon
    • BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs (Baked in Oven)
    • Roast Chicken Thighs and Vegetables
    • Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice
    chicken Katsu cutlet with lemon wedges
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 5 votes

    Chicken Katsu

    Chicken Katsu (Japanese Chicken Cutlet) is a crispy, golden brown chicken cutlet that makes a great lunch or a weeknight dinner. It is a standard Japanese dish that is commonly served with rice, vegetables, and tonkatsu sauce for dinner. Make it ahead of time for meal prep and enjoy for a Japanese restaurant experience at home!
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 972kcal
    Author: Kathleen Higashiyama

    Ingredients 

    • 1 ½ lbs Boneless skinless chicken thighs tenderized
    • 2 cups panko
    • 1 cup Flour
    • 3 Eggs beaten
    • ¼ cup Milk
    • 2 cup vegetable oil
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
    • ½ teaspoon togarashi
    • Tonkatsu sauce Bull Dog sauce
    • Lemon wedges optional

    Instructions

    • Tenderize the meat - Trim the fat off of the meat. Then, arrange a couple of chicken thighs in a flat layer inside of a gallon zip-top bag and remove as much air as possible. Use a meat tenderizer to gently pound until it is an even half-inch thickness. Remove the flattened chicken and set aside. Repeat until all of the chicken thighs are tenderized. Tenderizing the meat allows the pieces to cook evenly.
    • Season the meat - Place the chicken in a large bowl and season the meat with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
    • Season the flour mixture - Place the flour in a shallow dish. Gently whisk in ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and togarashi.
    • Make the egg mixture - In a mixing bowl, add eggs and milk. Beat the eggs and milk mixture until homogeneous. You can also omit the milk and just use eggs.
    • Place the panko in a shallow dish.
    • Dredge the meat - Coat each piece of chicken with flour mixture and shake off excess flour. Then dip each piece in the egg mixture. Finally, coat both sides of each chicken piece in panko by pressing the chicken into the panko crumbs.
    • Fry chicken in oil - Heat 1 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place 2 or 3 pieces of chicken in the hot oil and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the chicken is golden brown. Carefully remove crumbs from the oil with a mesh skimmer or spoon so they do not burn the oil after each batch is fried.
    • Cool chicken - Transfer the fried chicken to a wire cooling rack or a paper towel-lined plate.
    • Serve and enjoy - Serve the chicken immediately with tonkatsu sauce and lemon wedges (optional).

    Nutrition

    Calories: 972kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 81g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 44g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 191mg | Sodium: 674mg | Potassium: 394mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 214IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 3mg
    Keyword: chicken dinner, chicken katsu, chicken katsu recipe, fried chicken, japanese chicken, japanese dinner, katsu, tonkatsu, tonkatsu sauce
    Tried this recipe?Mention @theheirloompantry or tag #theheirloompantry!

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    About the Author

    Kat Higashiyama and Alec Totto are recipe developers, food photographers, and the authors behind The Heirloom Pantry. Since 2017, they have shared recipes inspired by their Japanese and Italian heritage and California and Hawaii roots. They reside in San Jose with their two dogs, Peeps and Paisley. Read More…

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chris

      July 30, 2021 at 2:14 pm

      5 stars
      Really crispy and yummy! Better than the katsu I have had at most Japanese restaurants.

      Reply
    2. Chelsea

      March 14, 2021 at 11:06 am

      5 stars
      Loooooved this chicken! Don't skip buying the Bull Dog sauce - this was essential and so delicious. Officially a pantry staple. Husband requested this be in the regular recipe rotation!

      Reply

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