Pork Katsu Curry

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Here I'll show you how to make a restaurant-quality Pork Katsu Curry at home!

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Total Time55

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Medium Sized Saucepan (for sauce)
Wooden Spoon
Cling Film & Rolling Pin or Mallet (for pounding pork)
3 Large Shallow Dish (for dredging pork)
Large Heavy-Based Pan & Tongs
Wire Rack & Baking Tray or Paper Towels (for resting fried pork)

Ingredients

Pork Katsu

4x 150g/5oz Pork Loin Steaks (see notes)
50g / 1/3 cup Plain Flour
100g / 3.5oz Panko Breadcrumbs
240ml / 1 cup Vegetable Oil (or another oil with a high smoking point)
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Curry Sauce

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 medium White Onion, finely chopped
1 medium Carrot, finely chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped Fresh Ginger
1 tbsp Curry Powder (spice level of choice - I use medium)
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric
500ml / 2 cups Chicken Stock
1 1/2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tsp Honey
2 tbsp Cornflour/Cornstarch
2 tbsp Cold Water
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

To Serve

Rice
sliced Spring Onions (optional)

Instructions

First, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and fry until softened and the onion just starts to turn golden. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a further minute, then stir in the curry powder, garam masala and turmeric and fry for another minute. Add the chicken stock, then stir in the soy sauce and honey. Turn the heat to low and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth.
In a small bowl, stir together the cornflour and the cold water, then swiftly whisk it through the sauce. Simmer and stir until the sauce thickens, then season with salt and pepper if needed.
To make the pork katsu, use a knife to remove the thick strip of fat attached to each pork steak. Lay a sheet of cling film over them and use a rolling pin, mallet or another heavy object to pound them to around 1.5cm thick. Season both sides of each steak with salt and pepper.
Line up three large shallow dishes: the first with the flour and a large pinch of salt and pepper, the second with the beaten eggs and the third with the breadcrumbs and a large pinch of salt and pepper. One by one, coat the pork steaks in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Make sure you thoroughly coat the pork at each stage.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat until it reaches 180°C (356°F). When it's hot enough, a breadcrumb should rapidly sizzle when it hits the oil. Two at a time, fry the pork in the hot oil for around 3–4 minutes each side, or until deep golden and visibly crispy, with the pork piping hot through the centre and with no trace of pink. Rest the cooked pork on a wire rack set over a baking tray or kitchen paper to catch any excess oil.
To serve, reheat the sauce and give it a whisk (add a dash of water if it over-thickens). Slice the pork into strips, place next to the rice. Spoon the sauce alongside the pork, then garnish with chopped spring onions, if using. Tuck in and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Pork - don’t worry if the steaks are smaller than 150g, they’ll just cook a little quicker. If the strip of fat is quite thin you can score it with a knife instead of removing it. Make sure the pork you use is boneless.

b) Pounding the pork - this is an important step to both tenderize the meat and ensure the pork cooks through quicker and more evenly. Again, just try to make sure you’re not pounding to the point that the pork is breaking apart, which may happen around the areas attached to the fat.

c) Chicken - if you’d prefer to use chicken, I recommend using two large breasts and slicing them through the centre to create four even-sized breasts. From there, pounding is optional to even them out if needed.

d) Cookbook - this recipe is featured in my cookbook 'Comfy'.

e) Calories - whole recipe divided by 4 assuming all the breading is attached (overestimate) and 2 tsp oil per cutlet is soaked up.

Nutrition