Today’s recipe is a rich and flavorful Japanese katsu curry. Here, crunchy chicken cutlet or pork cutlet is served over rice and smothered in a creamy curry sauce. It is the ultimate comfort dish!
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 dish together!
What is Katsu Curry?
Katsu Curry (カツカレー) is a combination of Japanese Curry and a panko-breaded cutlet. It is the ultimate comfort dish when you have a craving for a big meal. When I make curry at home, Mr. JOC always prefers adding katsu on top. He just loves the crunchy texture of katsu mixed with the flavorful curry sauce, 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 fresh out of the fryer pork cutlet (tonkatsu) or baked chicken cutlet or fried fish cutlet.
1. Choose Which Japanese Curry You Want to Make
Stovetop
Pressure Cooker
Watch How to Make Beef Curry
Savory and hearty beef curry made with beef, potatoes, carrots, mushroom, and Japanese curry roux.
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 a 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)
Watch How to Make Baked Tonkatsu
Tender and juicy pork loin wrapped in a crispy golden panko crust, serve with tonkatsu sauce and ground sesame seeds.
Make Speedy Katsu Curry with Leftovers
There are 3 parts that make up the dish: curry, katsu (panko-breaded cutlet), and the rice. You can cook the curry from scratch, frying the katsu, and cooking the rice all at the same 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 make 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 the curry in a saucepan on low heat, you can reheat the katsu in the oven, which takes less than 30 minutes.
It is a hefty meal but immensely satisfying. I hope you give the fabulous combo a try!
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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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
- furkujinzuke (red pickled daikon)
Instructions
Prepare Japanese Curry
- Make your choice of 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 Katsu Curry. It's easier to reheat the curry (and the flavor is better the next day!) while you prepare Katsu.
Prepare Katsu
- Make your choice of katsu: 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.
Make Steamed Rice
- Make steamed rice (I recommend Japanese short-grain rice for Japanese curry) using a rice cooker, a pot over the stovetop, a pressure cooker (Instant Pot), or a donabe.
How to Serve Katsu Curry
- Serve steamed rice and Japanese curry in a plate/bowl. Place Katsu on the top. Garnish it with fukujinzuke on the side.
