Nothing beats crisp and freshly cooked Chicken Katsu. I was inspired by our recent dining in a restaurant, and now we have been making Chicken Katsu, but a pan fried version, every week! I hope you enjoy this non-deep fried katsu recipe! Amazingly crispy crust with tender meat inside, I am excited for you to try this. Also, you can make these comforting Chicken Katsu Ramen with these crispy chicken!
Oh how we swoon over crunchy, warm and golden chicken katsu! If there’s a food I can eat so often, its crispy fried chicken.
I love deep fried katsu but to have it so often, it means I have to cook in a lot of oil so often, which is something I dread. So now, each time we want katsu, I make our own version that is fried in shallow oil.
And worry not, you still get crisp and golden fried chicken with flavorful and tender meat inside. And you won’t need that much oil in the process.
Ingredients for Chicken Katsu
- Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breasts. The chicken breasts are sliced in half horizontally, to yield 2 pieces of thinner chicken pieces or chicken cutlets. Then this are tenderized by pounding with a meat mallet or the back of a knife.
- Panko Breadcrumbs. Chicken katsu elevates a regular breaded chicken breasts by the use of the panko crumbs coating. A Japanese style bread crumbs, panko is light, airy and coarse, giving the fried chicken a deep and intense crunch.
- Flour and Eggs. The chicken cutlets are first dredged in flour to seal the moisture in, as well as to help the egg stick to the meat. The egg, in turn, allows the outer coating (panko) to better stick to the chicken.
- Salt and Pepper. The Chicken breasts are seasoned with salt and pepper before dredging in flour.
- Cooking Oil. I personally use olive oil, but feel free to use other vegetable oil or canola oil for your shallow frying. I initially heat up ¼ cup of oil, then add a few tablespoons as you needed further in the process.
Let’s Make Pan Fried Chicken Katsu
- Pat the chicken breasts with paper towel. On a cutting board, hold down the meat with your palm. Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken in half horizontally with your other hand. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
- Use a meat mallet or the back of the knife to pound on the entire meat surface. This will tenderize the chicken. Season each chicken cutlet with salt and pepper.
- Prepare three shallow bowls, or wide rimmed plates. To one, add the flour. To the second one, lightly beat 2 large eggs, and to the last one, add your panko breadcrumbs. Dredge a chicken cutlet lightly with flour.
- Next, dip the chicken in the beaten eggs. Make sure to let the excess egg drip back to the bowl as needed.
- Lastly, coat the chicken in the panko. Press the panko to the chicken to make sure they stick. Repeat the process with the remaining cutlets, and arrange them in a baking sheet or large tray.
- Heat about ¼ cup of olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Once it shimmers, add 2-3 pieces of breaded chicken, making sure not to over crowd your pan. Fry for 3-5 minutes each side, or until nicely golden. Note that the temperature of the chicken should be 165 F or 74 C on an instant-read thermometer.
Recipe Tips
- Instead of chicken breasts, you can also use chicken thighs. When you use them, you do not need to slice them in half.
- You can also use pork cutlets, instead of chicken.
- For more flavor, you can add a teaspoons of garlic powder into the panko.
- Store leftovers in the fridge, kept in an airtight containers for up to three days.
These chicken are best served with tonkatsu sauce, and garnished with some chopped green onions.
And that’s it. Serve this hot on a weeknight with rice and sliced cabbage salad. Call it a lovely day, because why not? You just had fried chicken for dinner!
Other chicken recipes from the blog:
- Chicken BBQ Pizza
- Orange Chicken
- Chicken Empanada
- 5 Ingredient Lemon BBQ Chicken
- Rosemary Chicken with garlic
Chicken Katsu
Ingredients
- 3 pieces large boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup olive oil plus up to 4 tablespoons more, as needed
For Serving
- 2 stalks green onions chopped, for garnish
- sliced cabbage
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
Instructions
- Pat the chicken breasts with paper towel. On a cutting board, hold down the meat with your palm. Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken in half horizontally with your other hand. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
- Use a meat mallet or the back of the knife to pound on the entire meat surface. This will tenderize the chicken. Season each chicken cutlet with salt and pepper.
- Prepare three shallow bowls, or wide rimmed plates. To one, add the flour. To the second one, lightly beat 2 large eggs, and to the last one, add your panko breadcrumbs. Dredge a chicken cutlet lightly with flour.
- Next, dip the chicken in the beaten eggs. Make sure to let the excess egg drip back to the bowl as needed.
- Lastly, coat the chicken in the panko. Press the panko to the chicken to make sure they stick. Repeat the process with the remaining cutlets, and arrange them in a baking sheet or large tray.
- Heat about ¼ cup of olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Once it shimmers, add 2-3 pieces of breaded chicken, making sure not to over crowd your pan. Fry for 3-5 minutes each side, or until nicely golden. Note that the temperature of the chicken should be 165 F or 74 C on an instant-read thermometer.
- Let chicken sit for 5 minutes, then slice into strips. Serve with tonkatsu sauce, rice and cabbage salad. Garnish with green onions.
Leave a Reply