Created in Japan but loved worldwide, chicken katsu is a simple breaded and fried chicken cutlet dish, served with the signature sweet katsu sauce. The
chicken breasts are pounded thin before being coated in panko and fried, resulting in extra-crispy, golden pieces of chicken that maintain a moist interior. Drizzling the chicken in the simple-to-make, homemade katsu sauce adds a sweet and tangy burst of flavor to every bite; serve alongside simple sides, and you’ve got a dream comfort food dinner on your hands. Here’s everything you need to know:
What is katsu?
A Japanese dish, katsu is a dish of fried and crispy cutlets that are coated with panko, and often served with the signature katsu sauce. While chicken katsu is a very popular example of this dish, there are plenty of other variations (traditional and creative). Some of our favorites? Our tofu katsu curry, shrimp katsu burgers, and Southern fried catfish katsu.
How to make chicken katsu sauce:
While you can buy a bottle of katsu sauce from the grocery store in a pinch, we prefer to make it homemade when we get the chance. All you need are a few staple ingredients to create this staple sauce: ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rice wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard—that’s it! The ratio of ingredients we included creates our own perfect katsu sauce, but feel free to experiment with amounts to create your own.
If you have any leftovers or want to make extra (we highly recommend), store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Serving ideas for chicken katsu:
Katsu is traditionally served with white rice and shaved green cabbage, but if you’re looking to serve it alongside something more substantial, a side of homemade miso soup, seaweed salad, or Japanese curry would all be great options.
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