Chicken Katsu Recipe (2024)

Chicken katsu is a popular Hawaiian dish. Tender chicken cutlets coated in a crispy, golden brown crust and dipped in tonkatsu sauce. Sure to be a favorite in your house.

Oh the good old chicken katsu. Definitely one of my favorite plate lunch options. Easy recipe with simple flavors. Perfect for the picky eater in your home.

Chicken is a twist on the classic Japanese tonkatsu. Tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried/tempura pork cutlet.

Cut through that crispy crust to find tender, juicy chicken. You can eat it plain or my favorite with tonkatsu sauce.

Here’s some other great plate lunch dishes to try: Some other great plate lunch options include: loco moco, chow fun, mochiko chicken, pastele stew, shoyu chicken, kalua pig, beef stew, laulau, or luau stew.

Chicken katsu ingredients

• For the katsu
  • 6 boneless skinless thighs (or breasts)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups panko
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • Frying oil of choice
• For the tonkatsu sauce
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon shoyu
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon mirin

Katsu sauce recipe adapted from Aloha Kitchen. Check out this cookbook for yummy Hawaiian recipes.

How hot should the oil be to fry chicken thighs?

350F is a good temperature for frying and works well for this recipe.

What temperature should chicken be cooked to?

Safe minimum temperature of chicken should be 165F.

What sauce goes well with chicken katsu?

My favorite is tonkatsu sauce, which is a thick, Japanese style Worcestershire sauce. It’s often eaten with tonkatsu, but works well for chicken katsu as well. You could also use plain ketchup.

What do I serve with katsu?

A plate lunch of chicken katsu in Hawai’i generally comes with shredded cabbage, sticky white rice, and macaroni salad, but you can serve this with the common sides that go well with chicken as well. How about some roasted veggies, corn, or any starch.

Can you air fry chicken katsu?

Yes! Air fry at 350F for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Can you bake chicken katsu?

You can do this as well. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes.

How to store chicken katsu?

This dish tastes best when eaten fresh, however if you happen to have leftovers you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. When you are ready to re-heat you can microwave, bake, or quickly fry again to bring back the crispiness.

How to make chicken katsu?

Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. While oil is heating up start dredging the chicken.

Place the eggs, panko, and flour in three separate shallow dishes.

Add garlic salt and pepper to the flour and mix to combine.

Next coat the chicken in flour. Be sure to shake off any excess flour. Then dip in the eggs being sure to cover the entire surface of the chicken. And lastly dip in the panko. You can press the panko on to the chicken to ensure even coverage.

Once the oil has reached about 350F, place the chicken in the pan and fry until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes flipping halfway through.

Remove chicken and place on a paper towel or a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet to catch excess oil.

For the katsu sauce: In a medium bowl add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, shoyu, sugar, and mirin. Whisk to combine.

Serve chicken with the katsu sauce as well as sticky white rice, macaroni salad, or tossed greens. Enjoy!

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