Let’s make rich and flavorful Japanese katsu curry at home today! Here, crunchy chicken cutlet or pork cutlet is served over rice and smothered in a creamy curry sauce. It is the ultimate comfort dish! My recipe shows how you can put it together quickly with various options for katsu (deep-fried or baked) and curry sauce.
“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.
Table of contents
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
Pressure Cooker
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.
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Katsu Curry
Ingredients
- your choice of Japanese curry (Read the post for choices)
- your choice of katsu (cutlet) (Read the post for choices)
- cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables)
Instructions
To Prepare the Japanese Curry
- Make your choice of Japanese curry: Beef Curry, Chicken Curry, Instant Pot Curry, Pork Curry, Instant Pot Seafood Curry, Vegetarian Curry, and more on the blog post. If you have time, I recommend making the curry one day before you serve the Katsu Curry. The flavor is better the next day, and it's easier to reheat the curry rather than making it from scratch while you prepare the Katsu.
To Prepare the Katsu
- Make your choice of katsu (cutlet): Tonkatsu, Baked Tonkatsu, Chicken Katsu, Baked Chicken Katsu, Gluten-Free Baked Katsu, Fried Shrimp, Baked Ebi Katsu, Baked Fish Katsu, Menchi Katsu, and more on the blog post.
To Make the Steamed Rice
- Make the cooked Japanese short-grain rice (I recommend serving Japanese short-grain rice with Japanese curry) using a rice cooker, a pot over the stovetop, a pressure cooker (Instant Pot), or a donabe.
To Serve the Katsu Curry
- Serve an individual portion of steamed rice on a plate or bowl and ladle some Japanese curry alongside the rice. Place the Katsu on the top. Garnish it with fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables) on the side.
It was perfect! thank you for this great recipe!
Hi Pat! Thank you so much for your kind words and high rating!
Happy Cooking!
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. My curry roux was much thicker than the video (no idea why) but I threw in an extra tablespoon of butter and it was a liquid roux like this one rather than something that looked like cookie dough. I made the instant pot version which was wonderful and easy, I just had to make sure I didn’t add the curry roux in until after pressurizing and almost messed that up. I did 1/16 of cayenne and it wasn’t spicy at all so I’ll probably do 1/8 next time since I was playing it safe for the kids. We made chicken katsu with the curry and that recipe was wonderful too. I think marinating it in sake and refrigerating it made a huge difference from when I normally just make fried chicken cutlets with panko breading. This meal was so hearty and delicious and as good or better than so many we’ve had in Japanese restaurants. It’s a lot of work but makes a ton of curry. Cutting the chicken in that style does make a difference too and I think you end up having more chicken in the end since the pieces bulk up when they’re fried. We also made the katsu sauce and that was also great! Our bellies are overstuffed and happy. Thanks for the great recipes!
Hi Rachel! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for sharing your cooking experience!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed homemade curry roux and curry! The thicker roux could be from the amount of flour you use or the type of flour. But we are glad to hear you were able to adjust it. Happy Cooking!🙂
About to make this for my son who is begging for homemade curry rice. Do you typically use a protein in the curry as well as the cutlet? I’m wondering if chicken curry plus pork cutlet is just too much protein, and if it is strange to have too many different proteins…
Hi Brenda, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! It depends on your preference, and you can choose the curry with meat or without it. In Japan, growing kids or males typically love to order this Curry in the restaurant!😁
Hi Nami! Is your Roux recipe enough to make the Curry recipe? Using a boxed Roux (200g) doesn’t seem to correspond to the 1/3 cup Homemade Roux.
Also, I have the same thoughts as Martin actually. You link the curry recipes with meat already in it. But then we need to make the Katsu still – so double meat.
To Martin, I guess you just cook the curry according to the recipe and leave out the meat.
Hi WiMo!
Thank you for trying this recipe!
1/3 cup homemade roux is enough for your curry recipe that requires 3-4 cups liquid. If not sure, please make double as everyone prefers different consistency for a curry.
As for the Curry recipe, it is up to your preference. As Nami mentioned in the recipe card, it is “Your choice of Japanese curry.”
We hope this helps!🙂
Thanks Naomi. Yes, I read that too but we were not asking about the type of curry to cook. We were commenting that the recipe already includes meat in it but then would need to deep fry another meat. But no worries, it’s all good 🙂
Hi WiMo!
You may cook vegetable curry as your choice.
For me, I use leftover curry for this recipe. The first day will be a regular curry with meat in it. The second day will be leftover curry with no meat and Katsu on top.😁
Made this today and was so happy with it! So simple and quick, and much cheaper than buying premade blocks!
I’m planning on gifting some to my friend, and I was just wondering how long it can be stored in the fridge or freezer? I know you mentions 3-4 months, but I wasn’t sure if that was just if stored in the freezer 😊
Hi Rory!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
To store homemade curry roux, you may store it in the refrigerator for a month or freezer for 3-4 months to make your favorite curry.
We hope this helps!
Loved this recipe – It is the ultimate comfort food! I am a big fan of CoCo’s and make it a point to eat there whenever I am in Japan!
Hi Jason!
CoCo! It’s a popular Curry shop in Japan. 😁
Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
[…] Katsu Curry (serve chicken katsu on top of Japanese curry) […]
Comment on Katsu Curry recipe
I don’t understand. Why would I make Beef Curry and then put Tonkatsu with it? for that matter why would make Chicken Curry and put Tonkatsu with it? Meat on meat? I just want to know whow to make the curry sauce. I followed your recipe to make the Roux, but I need to know how to turn that into a curry I can use.
Please help, I have a serious craving for Katsu curry.
Hi Martin! Here is the chicken curry recipe – https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/ Hope you enjoy!
I MADE THIS TODAY AND IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD!!! Thank you thank you thank you!! I also added the “fond” (little bits of stuff in the pan after I cooked the beef?) into the curry right after adding the red wine and it was yumm. I also learned a new thing about food organization. Putting the katsu between the curry and the rice makes for such great presentation because it doesn’t get mixed up!
Hi Keenan! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Thank you for trying my recipe! xoxo
[…] 5. Katsu Curry […]
Hi Nami,
When making the curry, should I be omitting the chicken or beef from the recipe, as it will then be served with the katsu?
Hi De! I usually add some kind of protein in the curry for good flavor. If I serve Tonkatsu or Chicken Katsu, I usually make beef curry (or chicken/pork which is not same as katsu). 🙂
Awsome! Incredably tastey. Our kids love this dishes!
Thank you so much for the great recipe, and FREE!
Hi しおみ! I’m so glad to hear you and your children enjoyed this dish. Thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
This video literally made my mouth water..and that was after I’d eaten dinner! Thanks for another great recipe. Love you videos and photography with great lighting and a steady hand and of course the music choice was super. And thanks for giving me a great curry option without the ubiquitous coconut found everywhere these days, cant wait to try it and share with my facebook fans over at Good, Cheap and Healthy Eats.
Hi Tanya! Aww thanks so much for watching my videos! We spend a lot of time filing videos and your comment make me and Mr. JOC very happy! Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing these recipes. I made Chicken katsu curry last night for a dinner party (following your instructions for everything including the homemade curry sauce and the rice) and it came out amazing; everyone loved it.
I can’t wait to try all your other recipes!
Hi Michelle! I”m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for trying the recipe! Hope you like other recipes from my blog as well. 🙂