Chicken Katsu (チキンカツ)

Most meat eater like a bit of fried chicken now and then. It is such a guilty pleasure and nobody would really admit they like those juicy, crispy chicken legs from Kentucky Fried Chicken. I can put my hands up and admit I do enjoy the rare occasion of fried chicken legs, and will be riddled with guilt afterwards, annoyed with myself for not having the willpower to put chicken's welfare first. Also my arteries. 

I kept the oil used to fry those scotch eggs in a pan for a while, partly because it is a chore to discard it properly and partly because I would quite like to fry some guilt-free free range chicken thighs. 

What I have in mind is to make a chicken katsu, which is a Japanese deep fried chicken dish. What makes it Japanese is the sauce that usually goes with a katsu - Tonkatsu sauce. The best combination I find is lots of tonkatsu sauce & Japanese mayo all over the meat. Let's worry about my arteries another day...

A light batter is the characteristic of a good katsu. I marinated the chicken thighs with some fresh ginger, sake and Japanese soy sauce for a couple of hours first before coating them with batter mix.

Serves 2

1 litre of vegetable oil

4 boneless & skinless free range chicken thighs

1 large free range egg, whisked 

1/2 loaf of stale white bread

250g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 thumb of fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1 tbsp sake

1tbs Japanese soy sauce

1. Marinade the chicken thighs with ginger, sake and soy sauce for at least a couple of hours.

2. Cut the stale loaf of bread into small cubes. Placed into a food chopper and blitz until the cubes turn into fine crumbs. Place into a bowl.

3. In a bowl, season the plain flour with freshly grounded black pepper and sea salt.

4. Whisk an egg in a bowl. Now, arrange the bowls in this order: flour, whisked egg & breadcrumbs.

5. Heat the oil in a deep pan until when dropping a small bit of breadcrumbs it sizzles. 

6. Coat a chicken thigh with flour, dip it into the egg and then coat it well with breadcrumbs.

7. Deep fry in the oil until golden brown. Depending on the size of the thighs, this should take around 10 minutes. If unsure, stick a knife through the chicken and chicken. 

8. Repeat the above steps for the remaining thighs.

9. Lined a plate with a good layer of kitchen paper. Use a slotted spoon to scope up the thighs and place on the plate for the excess oil to be soaked up.

10. Service the katsu with rice, and garnish with some Bulldog sauce & Japanese mayo.