Cheaterbug chicken katsu don
Ok I confess! I made these with ready-cooked frozen chicken katsu/cutlet:) I got mine from Song Fish. They have this brand called Tasty Farm (it’s their exclusive) and I think it tastes better than the Bibik brand. You can of course make your own with chicken thigh or breast, flour, egg and panko. Recipe below! This is how the frozen chicken katsu looks like:
Always wondered what goes into the subtly sweet and moist egg mixture of chicken katsu don? It’s a combination of onions, dashi (Japanese broth usually made of dried seaweed and bonito fish flakes – plus other dried ingredients sometimes), mirin, sake (I omitted), soy sauce and sugar. Of course I didn’t cook it from scratch. I used this brand of dashi powder which you can get from Japanese supermarkets or the Japanese section of supermarkets such as Fairprice Finest or Extra:
Just mix the powder with water for instant dashi stock which can be used as a base for many types of Japanese cooking. I add dashi powder to my one-pot mushroom rice too.
The chicken can be made from scratch with either chicken thigh or breast. I don’t do deep frying at home so the steps below are for the airfried version. Of course, if you buy ready-made katsu don like I have, simply airfry for 15-18 minutes at 180C, or deepfry according to package instructions. Have a bowl of soft fluffy rice ready and dinner is on the table!
Serves 2 What you need:
For the chicken:
2 pieces chicken thigh or breast (about palm sized)
Plain flour
1 egg
Panko
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying
For the egg/gravy:
200ml dashi (mix powder + water according to package instructions)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sake (I omitted)
2 eggs, beaten
1 onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Steps:
Flatten the chicken by pounding with the back of your knife. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge in plain flour, shake off excess, dip in egg, then coat with panko. Set aside for a few minutes. Spray on some oil and airfry for 15 minutes at 180C in a preheated airfryer. Otherwise, deep fry till golden. Slice and set aside.
In a pan big enough to fit the chicken, heat the olive oil and fry sliced onions for 1 minute. Add the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and sake (if using). Bring to boil then lower flame and cook until onions are soft.
Place the cooked chicken pieces in the broth. Pour beaten egg and distribute evenly. Switch off the flame when eggs have slightly set.
Scoop on top of Japanese rice and serve immediately.
