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.

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)

Has anyone had a delicious okonomiyaki with lots of Japanese mayo, tonkatsu sauce and  topped with bonito shavings? Ok it may seems like I am just making words up here and I promise I am not. The best way to describe it is, it is a type of savoury pancake, or some would say it is also a little like an omelette. The filling of the okonomiyaki batter varies, but usually consist of bacon, octopus, cabbage and pork, topped with a generous amount of Japanese mayo, tonkatsu sauce and a sprinkle of dried seaweed or bonito shavings.

You can pretty much put anything into an okonomiyaki, as the word translate as 'grilled as you like it'. There is no right or wrong, so let's get creative!

Still can't picture what it would look like? Here is one I made:

I was very proud of myself when I managed to make one that resemble some similarities to an authentic okonomiyaki, and also looks presentable to be shared on the World Wide Web!

Yes, judging on the volume of mayo perhaps it is best not to try this out on your diet days.... The sauces I used are as below. They are widely available at Oriental food store. If there isn't one near you Japan Centre in London does delivery nationwide: https://www.japancentre.com/en

Kenko Mayonnaise 

Not dissimilar to Western eaters, the Japanese likes to have mayo with most things. Tempura, sushis, salad.... etc but yet the Japanese stays slim and slender! Perhaps it is time to replace regular Hellmann's with Kenko for real....

Bull-Dog Tonkatsu Sauce

Similar to our nation's favourite HP brown sauce. The Japanese likes to have this on breaded chicken, breaded pork chop, any type of fried meat really. Believe it or not it compliments the meat very well. The only obvious fried meat is KFC which I have yet tried the sauce with yet....!

Okonomiyaki usually cooked on a teppan  platelike that of teppanyaki. Well, I don't own a teppan plate but I do have an iron frying pan which I am sure will do the job just fine.

Now the key ingredeitn - okonomiyaki flour. There are many okonomiyaki mix available. I personally don't think it matters much which brand you go for, just grab one that catches your eyes most. The one I went for this one, which has prawn and scallop extract:

It is basically wheat flour mixed with some yam powder along with some seafood flavouring, the key  ingredient to a delicious okonomiyaki.

Serves 2

100g okonomiyaki flour
120ml water
1 free range egg
Bowlful of shredded cabbage
6 rashes of streaky bacon
Handful of shrimps
100g pork shoulder steak, sliced
Generous amount of Japanese mayo & tonkatsu sauce (or ordinary mayo & brown sauce)
Sprinkle of crushed dried seasweed (optional)

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, water and egg until smooth.

2. Ensure the frying pan is preheated well (but not smoking) and oiled.

3. Mix the cabbage, shrimps and pork shoulder steak slices well into the batter.

4. Place 3 rashes of streaky bacon onto the frying pan then gradually pour in the mixture.

5. Cook until lightly browned and the liquid begin to set, then place the other 3 rashes of streaky bacon on top and flip over to cook the other side till lightly browned.

6. Press down the okonomiyaki with the spatular to make an even thickness and it is cooked through.

7. Once both side is cooked to lightly browned then it can be placed up, squirt a generous amount of mayo and tonkatsu sauce all over.

8. Finally garnish it with a sprinkle of bonito shavings or dried seasweed for some umami.