Chicken Katsu

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

18 Comments

5 from 7 votes
4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
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Easy Japanese Chicken Katsu recipe for perfectly crispy chicken cutlets with panko breading. Includes two delicious sauces for dipping!

I love perfecting delicious takeout dishes into easy at-home dinners like this crispy Japanese chicken. For more Asian takeout classics, try my Teriyaki Chicken and Chinese Lemon Chicken next!

Sliced Chicken cutlets on a plate with rice

Sabrina’s Chicken Katsu Recipe

Chicken Katsu is one of my favorite Japanese recipes. It’s basically fried chicken pounded thin and breaded with Panko breadcrumbs. I’ve included recipes for a traditional sweet curry sauce and a simple katsu BBQ sauce for dipping later on in this post. This chicken is so versatile but some steamed rice makes a simple, delicious side. You could also recreate a classic Hawaiian lunch by serving it with the rice, Macaroni Salad, and Hawaiian BBQ Chicken.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Chicken Katsu

Easy Japanese Chicken Katsu recipe for perfectly crispy chicken cutlets with panko breading. Includes two delicious sauces for dipping!
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Japanese
Author Sabrina Snyder
Sliced cooked crispy chicken pieces with rice
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 chicken breasts , boneless and skinless
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 large eggs , beaten
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Using a mallet pound the chicken to an even thickness, about 1/2" thick.
  • Season both sides of the chicken with the salt and pepper.
  • Coat each cutlet with the flour before dredging in the egg yolks then pressing into the panko crumbs.
  • Rest the breaded chicken pieces on a baking sheet for ten minutes before frying.
  • Fry in a large skillet with at least 2 inches of oil on medium heat until cooked through and golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side.
  • Serve with katsu sauce or katsu curry sauce (recipes below in post).

Nutrition

Calories: 436kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 226mg | Sodium: 804mg | Potassium: 935mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 187IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3mg

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Table of contents

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Dipping Sauces

Curry Sauce

  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ yellow onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon curry
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  1. Add the vegetable oil to a skillet with the onions and carrots on medium heat and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
  2. Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook for an additional 30 seconds, stirring well, then whisk in the flour and curry until well combined.
  3. Whisk the broth in slowly until smooth along with the soy sauce and honey and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened before using and immersion blender to puree until smooth.

Katsu BBQ Sauce

  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
  • Whisk together and let sit for at least an hour before serving with breaded chicken.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • Because this is fried, I also like to serve it with a fresh side salad or shredded cabbage to lighten up the dish.
  • Make sure you pound the chicken evenly so it all finishes cooking at the same time.
Sliced crispy chicken on plate with sauce plated with rice.

How to Store

  • Serve: Don’t leave cooked chicken sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: Chicken Katsu will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Keep in mind that the breading will no longer be crispy after refrigerating the chicken, so it is best when eaten the same day.
  • Freeze: This recipe is perfect for making ahead and freezing. After frying the chicken, let it cool and place it in an airtight plastic bag to freeze. Reheat on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 5-10 minutes, then serve with curry and ketchup sauce. I recommend freezing sauce in a separate container from the chicken.

Oven Baked Variation

  • Follow the regular recipe to bread the chicken, then instead of frying, lay the chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and spray the chicken with cooking oil on both sides.
  • Bake for about 10 minutes on one side, then turn over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes on the other side, or until the chicken is cooked through and crispy. For extra crispy chicken, turn on the broiler for 1-2 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn.

Frequent Questions

Where is Chicken Katsu from?

Chicken Katsu is a popular dish in Japan and Hawaii, but it originally started in a Japanese restaurant.

Can I use anything besides chicken?

Katsu is made with chicken, but you can also make tonkatsu which is made with pork cutlets.

Japanese Fried Chicken with rice

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More Takeout Chicken Favorites

Collage of cooked chicken pieces plated with and without sauce

The following posts were used in previous versions of this post.

Crispy fried Japanese chicken with rice

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  4. We LOVE katsudon in our house! A chicken katsu is a great alternative for those who don’t eat pork, so I’m pinning it and putting it in my meal plan for next week. Yum!

    Reply

  5. Absolutely mouth watering! And so easy to convert to a gluten free recipe that I will give this a try. The chicken looks so crispy!

    Reply

  6. looking delicious, I forwarded this chicken katsu recipe to my friends. Lovely platter, being vegetarian even I am so tempted with the photos.

    Reply

  8. My husband always orders this when we go to our fav Hawaiian restaurant. I love that I can make this at home for him now, thanks!

    Reply

  9. Yum! love chicken katsu, but have never made it at home. This looks perfectly golden and crisp. Can’t wait to try it this weekend!

    Reply