Go Back
–+ servings

Japanese Chicken Katsu with Ultimate Homemade Sauce

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients 
 

Katsu Sauce

Chicken Katsu

  • 600 g boneless chicken thigh skin-on (or chicken breast)
  • salt and pepper
  • 45 g all-purpose flour for coating
  • 100 g panko breadcrumbs coarse flakes or coarse homemade crumbs
  • 100 ml water
  • 2 egg
  • 100 g all-purpose flour for the batter
  • cooking oil neutral, high smoke point

Instructions 

  • Pour 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds into a dry frying pan and heat on a medium-high heat. Shake the pan occasionally and heat until the sesame seeds are fragrant. Remove from the heat as soon as you smell a toasty aroma.
    toasting sesame seeds in a dry pan
  • Transfer the toasted sesame seeds to a mortar (or small blender). Grind until coarse and slightly oily, it doesn't need to be perfectly smooth.
    ground toasted sesame seeds in Japanese ceramic mortar with wooden pestle
  • Scrape the ground sesame into a bowl and add 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tsp sugar and 4 tsp water. Mix and set aside for later.
    sesame seed based katsu sauce mixed in a small glass bowl
  • Start heating cooking oil for deep frying to 170 °C (338 °F). Cut 600 g boneless chicken thigh into quarters or sixths, then sprinkle each piece with salt and pepper and both sides.
    chicken thigh cut into pieces in a steel mixing bowl
  • Prepare one plate with 45 g all-purpose flour and another one with 100 g panko breadcrumbs.
    panko breadcrumbs and flour in steel trays
  • Crack 2 egg into a bowl and add 100 ml water and 100 g all-purpose flour. Whisk until it forms a smooth thick batter.
    egg batter whisked in a steel bowl
  • Coat each piece of chicken with a thin layer of flour, dust off the excess, then submerge in the batter.
    floured chicken thigh dipped in egg batter
  • Roll each piece in the panko breadcrumbs and press firmly to secure them. Transfer to a clean plate or wire rack and rest for 5 minutes.
    chicken thigh coated in panko breadcrumbs
  • Place the breaded chicken in the preheated oil and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until crispy and golden all over. Fry in batches to prevent lowering the oil temperature.
    frying chicken katsu in oil
  • Rest on a wire rack for 2 minutes to drain excess oil.
    chicken katsu resting on a wire rack
  • Drizzle with the sesame sauce, or serve on the side for dipping. Enjoy!
    chicken katsu on a brown rectangular plate with a drizzle of homemade sesame katsu sauce

Notes

Pat the chicken completely dry before flouring, and shake off all excess flour so only a thin dusting remains. Surface moisture is the number-one reason breading falls off.
After coating in panko, rest the breaded pieces for 5 minutes before frying. This pause lets the flour hydrate into a sticky film and allows the crumbs to seat firmly into the batter.
Treat 170℃ (338°F) as non-negotiable: Fry in batches in a deep, heavy pot and let the oil recover to temp between batches.
Drain on a wire rack, rest 2 minutes for carryover heat.