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Katsu Curry (Japanese Curry with Tonkatsu)

December 9, 2022 By Karl Leave a Comment

I’ve had lots of Japanese curry over the years: from homemade, to the kind using the premade roux from the grocery store, to the real-deal at restaurants in Japan. There’s even a Feral Cooks version on this site.

I must say that this recipe from Food & Wine is as good as any katsu curry I’ve had. It’s not any single thing that makes this so good. Rather, it’s the combination of flavors and textures that make this simply outstanding.

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients, as there’s nothing too exotic in there. Also, it’s probably best to think of this as making three different recipes that are combined in the end: 1) rice, 2) tonkatsu and 3) the curry sauce. I admit that pulling all this together does take some time, but it’s well worth it. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making the curry from scratch, you could also use the pre-made roux, though it won’t be as stunningly delicious.

Here’s an example of the pre-made roux you can get at the Asian grocery store. It’s pretty good, but won’t really do this recipe justice.

Note that the curry power that you make is enough for at least two batches, and this recipe makes four servings. You’ll also need an immersion blender for this recipe, or a viable alternative.

This recipe assumes that you have your rice already made and kept hot in a rice cooker or on the stove.

What you’ll need for the curry powder

  • 2 or 3 cardamon pods
  • 1 small cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1T black or brown mustard seeds
  • 1T fennel seeds
  • 1T cumin seeds
  • 1t fenugreek seeds
  • 0.5t whole cloves
  • 1.5t black peppercorns
  • 1T ground ginger
  • 1T ground turmeric
  • 1T fine sea salt
  • T1 sweet paprika (I used regular paprika)
  • 1t cayenne pepper

What you’ll need for the curry

  • 3T mochiko (sweet glutinous rice flour)
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
  • 3T sesame oil, unsalted butter or canola oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1.5 cups)
  • 2T finely chopped fresh ginger (about a 2-inch piece)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2T soy sauce (shoyu)
  • 4t ketchup (bonus if it’s Japanese Kagome brand)
  • 2t honey or mirin
  • 1t lemon juice or rice vinegar

What you’ll need for the tonkatsu (it’s the same as for the pork in this recipe)

  • 4 slices of pork tenderloin or boneless pork chops
  • salt and pepper
  • flour for coating the meat
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • panko, for coating the meat
  • neutral oil, for frying (vegetable, peanut, canola, etc.)

Additional ingredients for the assembly and presentation

  • One cup of cooked rice, per person being served
  • 3 cups shredded cabbage (about 8 oz)
  • One fried egg, per person
  • Lemon wedges (optional)
  • 2T chopped cilantro (very optional)

What to do: make the parts of the dish in this order.

What to do for the curry powder

Dry-fry the following spices in a medium skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes, rolling them around in the pan so they don’t scorch:

  • 2 or 3 cardamon pods
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1T black or brown mustard seeds
  • 1T fennel seeds
  • 1T cumin seeds
  • 1t fenugreek seeds
  • 0.5t whole cloves
  • 1.5t black peppercorns

When they’re fragrant, take the pan off the heat and let them cool for a bit, before grinding them to powder in a spice grinder. Pour the powder through a wire-mesh strainer over a bowl and pull out any remaining pieces. Put them back into the grinder to powder them. Once all those spices are ground and any larger pieces removed, put them in a medium bowl and add the following spices to the mixture and mix them up:

  • 1T ground ginger
  • 1T ground turmeric
  • 1T fine sea salt
  • T1 sweet paprika
  • 1t cayenne pepper

Reserve 1T of the spice powder for the recipe and save the rest in the fridge or freezer for the next time you make it.

What to do for the curry:

Whisk the mochiko and 0.5 cups broth in a small bowl. It will end up as a slurry. Set it aside.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it is softened—about 6 minutes. Add the chopped ginger and garlic, cooking until it is very fragrant—about 1 minute. Be careful not to let the garlic scorch. Otherwise, you’ll have to throw it out and start the curry section over again. Add the remaining 2.5 cups of broth and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat before stirring in the soy sauce, ketchup, honey, lemon juice, salt, the 1T of curry powder. Re-stir the mochiko slurry and drizzle it into the onion mixture, stirring constantly to combine.

Cook the curry mixture over medium heat, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the mixture thickens and the onion breaks down a little more—about 15 minutes.  

Remove the saucepan from the heat and blend the mixture with the immersion blender until it’s really smooth—about 1-2 minutes. Return the pan to the heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and cover. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the dish and serve.

What to do for the tonkatsu (same steps as for the pork in this recipe):

For each piece, put between sheets of wax paper and pound thinner. Then season each side with salt and pepper.

Put oil in the fry-cooker or a heavy pot and begin heating it to 350 degrees.

Dredge each piece of pork in flour—shaking off the excess—then dip it in the beaten eggs and coat with panko.

Fry the pork, one or two at a time, for 6 or so minutes and allow to drain on a rack.

Slice into wide strips, set aside and keep warm while you prepare the rest of the dish.

What to do to finish and assemble the dish

If topping the curry with fried eggs, get your pan, butter and eggs all set to cook, but cooking them and topping the curry will be your last step.

Begin re-heating the curry sauce over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Distribute the amount of rice you’re going to use among the shallow serving bowls. You want to basically lay down a thick bed of rice.

Spoon the heated curry over about one half of the rice, and shake a little salt and pepper over it. Lay the sliced tonkatsu over the side of rice without the curry, and spoon some curry over the tonkatsu. Lay some shredded cabbage over about half of the curry-side of the rice. Quickly fry the eggs and lay them over the shredded cabbage. Add lemon wedges—if using— to the side of the tonkatsu.

Serve hot. The tonkatsu is best eaten with chopsticks, but you’ll want to use a spoon for the curry and rice.

Enjoy!

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