Crispy Chicken Katsu Bowls

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thigh fillets, butterflied and bashed flat
• 60 g plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 120 g panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mild curry powder
• 2 x 250g pre-cooked jasmine rice pouches
• 0.5 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
• shredded red cabbage slaw, to serve
• pickled ginger, to serve
• miso soup, to serve

Method

1. Set up a breading station: plain flour in one shallow bowl, beaten eggs in a second, panko in a third. Season the flour generously with salt and black pepper — this is your only chance to season the meat itself, so don't be shy.
2. Coat each butterflied chicken piece — flour first, shaking off the excess, then egg, then panko. Press the breadcrumbs on firmly with the flat of your hand so they form a thick, even crust that won't shed in the pan.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high until it shimmers and a stray crumb fizzes on contact. Lay the chicken in carefully — work in two batches if your pan is on the small side. Crowd the pan and the temperature drops, the crust goes pale and greasy instead of shattering and golden.
4. Fry for 4–5 minutes on each side until deeply golden and cooked through (74°C internal). Resist the urge to nudge them early — that's how you get the proper shattering crust. Rest on a wire rack rather than kitchen paper so the underside stays crisp.
5. While the chicken fries, toast the curry powder in a small dry pan for 30–60 seconds until fragrant — raw curry powder tastes dusty, bloomed curry powder tastes of itself. Tip into a bowl with the ketchup, soy, honey and Worcestershire and whisk until smooth and glossy. Taste: it should be sweet, savoury and gently curry-warmed. Most of the salt comes from the soy, but a final pinch ties it together if it needs it.
6. Heat the rice pouches according to the pack instructions and fluff with a fork. Slice the rested chicken on the diagonal into thick strips so you can see the steam rising off the crumb.
7. Tip the katsu sauce into the still-warm frying pan off the heat, swirl for 20 seconds so it loosens and turns glossy — this turns it from a thick paste into something that pours and pools properly around the chicken rather than sitting on top in a stripe.
8. Build the bowls: a mound of jasmine rice, a fan of cucumber alongside, then the crispy katsu strips piled on top. Spoon the warmed katsu sauce over generously, scatter with toasted sesame seeds and spring onions, and serve with the shredded red cabbage slaw and pickled ginger tucked in beside, with a bowl of miso soup alongside.