Eva Pau’s chicken katsu curry

Eva Pau, presenter of Eva Pau’s Asian Kitchen on RTÉ One, will make her debut on the Dunnes Stores Quality Kitchen Stage at Bord Bia Bloom this June bank holiday weekend. To celebrate, she is sharing her recipe for her delicious chicken katsu curry. Served in 30 minutes, it’s a great option for busy mealtimes.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15mins

Cook Time: 15mins

Ingredients

• 4 Quality Assured boneless chicken thighs
• Salt and pepper
• 60g plain flour
• 2 large eggs
• 120g panko breadcrumbs
• 500–700 ml neutral oil, for frying

For the curry sauce

• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 medium-sized onions, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 apple, peeled and finely grated
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp Japanese curry powder or mild curry powder
• 600ml water
• 3tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2tsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt

To serve

• 600g cooked Japanese short grain rice
• Takuan Japanese pickled radish (optional)
• Beni Shoga Japanese pickled ginger (optional)

Method

1. In a hot pan, add the oil and when hot, add the onion and apple and cook for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden and soft.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle in the flour and curry powder, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes then gradually add the water, stirring well to avoid any lumps forming.
4. Use a hand blender and blitz the sauce for 2-3minutes until really smooth. Add the light soy sauce, dark soy, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, sugar, salt and simmer over a low heat for 2-3 minutes.
5. To prepare the chicken katsu, place the chicken between two sheets of baking paper and use a rolling pin to gently bash the chicken evenly to a thickness of about 1cm.
6. Season both sides with salt and pepper then place the flour into a bowl. Beat the eggs in a second, separate bowls and place the panko into a third bowl. Coat each piece of chicken in the seasoned flour then dip in the beaten egg and finally, coat in the panko breadcrumbs. Set aside.
7. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a deep sided frying pan or wok until it reaches 175ºC. Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through, then remove to drain on kitchen paper.
8. To serve, place a mound of steamed rice on each plate and slice each chicken katsu thinly. Spoon some of the hot curry next to or over the rice and top with sliced katsu. Serve the pickled radish on the side.

See Eva live in action on the Dunnes Stores Quality Kitchen Stage over the Bloom June bank holiday weekend. And remember, always look for the Bord Bia Quality Mark when shopping.