“Made this tonight and it was amazing! I made the curry roux from scratch rather than using store-bought this morning and I’m glad I did that.” – Rachel The Japanese absolutely love curry and deep-fried food. So it only makes sense that we pair the two together for a hearty and scrumptious dish like this Katsu Curry (カツカレー). Don’t be surprised when I tell you there are so many paths to put this popular curry rice together! In this recipe post, I’ve included various popular options, including chicken katsu curry and pork katsu curry for you to choose from.
What is Katsu Curry?
Katsu curry (カツカレー) is a combination of Japanese curry and a panko-breaded cutlet that is served over steamed rice. It is the ultimate comfort dish when you have a craving for a big, hearty meal. When I make curry at home, my husband always prefers adding katsu on top. He just can’t get enough of the crunchy texture of katsu that pairs perfectly with the rich curry sauce and slightly sticky Japanese rice, and I don’t blame him. At Japanese curry restaurants, you get to choose different toppings to go with your curry over rice, and katsu is one of them.
How to Make Katsu Curry at Home
We never get tired of making katsu curry at home because you get to switch things up easily. It’s essentially a mix and match dish, where you can pair a leftover curry with some golden brown, fresh out of the fryer pork chops (tonkatsu) or baked chicken breast cutlet, or fried fish cutlet.
1. Choose Which Japanese Curry You Want to Make
Each of my curry recipes below consists of the main protein, and vegetables such as onion slices, carrots, and potatoes. For the sauce, the base is made of Japanese curry roux, ginger, garlic, chicken stock, grated apple, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, and black pepper. Stovetop
Japanese Chicken CurryJapanese Beef CurryJapanese Pork CurryVegetarian Japanese Curry
Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot Japanese CurryInstant Pot Seafood Curry
2. Pick Your Choice of Katsu
You can literally make your protein choice with different options! Not a big fan of pork or chicken? You can also enjoy katsu curry with shrimp or fish (See below). Deep-Fried Katsu
Tonkatsu (pork cutlet)Chicken Katsu (chicken cutlet)Crispy Tonkatsu (thin pork cutlet)
Baked Katsu
Baked Tonkatsu (pork cutlet)Baked Chicken Katsu (chicken cutlet)Gluten-Free Baked Chicken Katsu (chicken cutlet)Baked Salmon Katsu (salmon cutlet) – Use white fish instead of salmon for katsu curry.
Other Options
Menchi Katsu (Minced Meat Cutlet)Baked Ebi Katsu (Shrimp Cutlet)Ham Katsu (Ham Cutlet)Ebi Fry (Fried Shrimp)
Optional toppings: Half a hard boiled egg and fukujinzuke (red pickled daikon).
Make Speedy Katsu Curry with Leftovers
Katsu curry is made of 3 main components:
Curry sauce Katsu (cutlet breaded with flour and panko breadcrumbs)Hot steamed rice – I recommend using only Japanese short-grain rice
You can cook the curry from scratch, fry the katsu, and cook the rice all at the same time, but this can take up quite a bit of time. To simplify and shorten the cooking process, here are what I usually do: Option 1: Make the curry on the stovetop or instant pot and prepare the katsu in the oven. Option 2: Speed it up by using leftovers! I usually cook my choice of curry the night before, then warm it up and serve it with a fresh-made katsu. If I happened to have both Japanese curry and katsu in the freezer, I could just defrost them and put this together instantly. While you warm up and simmer the curry in a saucepan on low heat, you can reheat the katsu in the oven, which takes less than 30 minutes. To serve, pour curry on the side next to the cutlet away from the steamed rice. Garnish it with fukujinzuke if you wish. Katsu curry is a hefty meal but tastes amazing and immensely satisfying. I hope you give the fabulous combo a try! Also, give us a thumbs up by leaving your review below if you enjoyed this katsu curry recipe. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
