Spicy Chicken Katsu Curry
The ultimate Valentine’s dish. Or a treat for one. Spice up your night, no matter who you’re with.
It’s that time of year again, the time to celebrate love! It comes around quickly, doesn’t it?
Valentine’s Day, for me, has never been about showering my other half with ridiculously expensive designer gifts or over-the-top gestures—like blindfolding my wife and whisking her off to Budapest or something. Reading that back, I’ve made it sound like a Central European trafficking tale. You have my permission to read the rest of this post in Liam Neeson’s voice if you want to.
What I’m doing a poor job of explaining is that I have nothing against people who want to buy expensive gifts for their loved ones at this time of year. But for me (or rather, for us), it’s all about the food.
I’m of the humble opinion that there’s no greater show of affection than preparing a meal for someone you love. Setting the table with a candle or two, turning down the lights, and pouring a glass of wine before enjoying some good food together. These are the time-tested building blocks of a romantic night in, and I’m here to help you finesse it with crispy chicken.
While working on this recipe, my wife and I had katsu curry three times in one week: twice for dinner and once for lunch. And you know what? We still weren’t sick of it. Each time, we just sat there in silence, having our own spiritual journey with the food in front of us, perfectly happy in our individual, quiet moments of crispy chicken solitude.
Our only connection during those meals was the occasional glance at each other, with expressions that seemed to say, “This is bloody good,” or “Wow, this is the second coming of Christ.” Or at least, that’s what I imagined my wife was saying with her eyes.
I’d also like to note that this dish won’t stifle free-flowing romantic conversation. We just somehow found ourselves in perfectly comfortable silence, a true sign of love, feeling completely at ease with each other, with no pressure to fill the silence. Just the faint sound of us eating a katsu curry.
Look at me getting all soppy!
So anyway, as you can imagine, I’ve been really excited to share this one. I think it’s the perfect dish for a Valentine’s Day date night. It’s comforting, delicious food with a slight touch of elegance that strikes the perfect balance between effort and reward—especially for a night when we want things to go as smoothly as possible. We don’t want to take any risks on this sacred evening; we want every part of the night to unfold just as planned.
Speaking of risks, now’s probably a good time to mention that this is a slightly spicy katsu curry sauce. I personally think it elevates the dish and gives your tastebuds a good old tingle. (Woah now, slow down there, Miles!) For me, it’s a pleasant heat—not too overpowering and definitely not going to burn your mouth to oblivion.
However, everyone’s different and if there’s even a chance that your partner doesn’t like spicy food, you can, of course, tweak this recipe to reduce the heat and make it milder. Remove the chili flakes and swap out the hot sauce for one that’s mild. The last thing you want is to go from Valentine’s Day hero to Valentine’s Day villain before you can even say: “Have you got any milk?”
Anyway, I’ve bigged this one up good and proper, so let me know how you get on. Whether you’re spending Valentine’s Day with a loved one, a new fling, or just chilling on your own, have a great time, treat yourself, and I hope you enjoy the recipe.
P.S. It’s hard to take a photo of chicken katsu curry without it sometimes looking like some unfortunate digestive incident happened while you were somehow squatting over your perfectly cooked crispy chicken cutlet. Apologies for that.
Serves 2. Cooking time: 45 - 60 minutes
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken Cutlets
1 large chicken breasts
1 eggs
25g plain flour
30g panko breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil (enough to shallow fry cutlets)
Katsu curry sauce
1 white onions
2 medium carrots
10g ginger
1 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 tablespoons plain flour
300ml vegetable stock (only use 1 cube)
100ml coconut milk
1 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon chili flakes
25ml sriracha hot sauce (or other hot sauce)
To serve
250g cooked sushi rice
Side salad or some sort of token green vegetable
Note: For the sauce, you'll need a hand blender or food processor for the best results. If you don’t have one, that’s okay—your sauce will just be a little lumpier.
I use a rice cooker to prepare the sushi rice, using a 1:1 ratio of rice to water. If you don’t have a rice cooker, simply follow the package instructions to cook it in a saucepan.
Method
Peel and then finely dice the onion, carrots, garlic, and ginger. Add a splash of vegetable oil to a wide-walled pan or saucepan and cook the onions and carrots over medium heat until softened. Then, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder and turmeric, cooking for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the flour and cook for another minute.
Slowly pour in the stock, whisking continuously. The trick here is to add a splash, whisk until fully incorporated, then repeat. This prevents any floury clumps. A proper turn-off!
Once all the stock is mixed in, add the coconut milk, sugar, and soy sauce. Stir to combine, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a separate small pan, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute. Then, stir in the sriracha and your chosen hot sauce (I used Frank’s, but Tabasco or any other kind works. If you don’t have extra hot sauce, don’t sweat it!). Cook until it turns sticky and jammy, then remove from the heat and stir it into your katsu sauce.
Whisk the egg(s) and place them in a wide bowl. Put the flour on a plate and the panko breadcrumbs on another. Stir a pinch of salt into the flour.
Slice the chicken breast in half horizontally to create two thinner cutlets.
Dredge each cutlet in flour first, then the egg, and finally the panko breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs in firmly. Set aside while you have a quick tidy-up. You’ll probably need one by now!
Using a hand blender or food processor, blend your katsu sauce until smooth and thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Set it aside—we’ll reheat it just before serving.
If using a rice cooker, wash and rinse the rice, then add one part rice to one part water. Set it off and let it do its thing! It takes around 15 minutes. If you don’t have a rice cooker, cook the rice as per the packet instructions.
In a deep-walled pan, heat enough vegetable oil so that it comes halfway up the chicken cutlets when placed flat in the pan. Drop a piece of flour into the oil to test. If it starts sizzling, you know it’s ready.
Carefully place the cutlets in the pan and shallow fry for around 4 minutes on each side. Panko breadcrumbs can burn easily, so keep an eye on them. Cook until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the chicken is fully cooked but still tender. If your cutlets are thick and the breadcrumbs brown before the chicken is cooked through, transfer them to an oven at 180°C for around 10 minutes to finish cooking.
Reheat the katsu sauce over medium heat while you plate up. Put a generous pile of sushi rice on a plate and flatten the top slightly. Slice your chicken cutlets and lay them over the rice. Add a token handful of salad leaves or a green vegetable, then spoon over the now-warmed katsu curry sauce, letting it dramatically drip down the sides.
Valentine’s Day dinner is done. Whether you’re with your other half, your friends, or just treating yourself, you’ve put in the effort, so don’t be shy about claiming your well-earned reward. Hopefully, tonight’s dessert is served somewhere other than the plate.
It turns out sherry isn’t just for old white ladies at Christmas time.
Thanks for reading this newsletter, see you on the next one.
Miles x