Katsu Curry カツカレー

Let’s make flavorful Japanese Katsu Curry at home! Serve a crunchy, panko-breaded chicken cutlet or pork cutlet over steamed rice and smother it in a rich curry sauce. I’ll share my tips and tricks to help you put together this ultimate comfort dish fast.

The Japanese absolutely love curry and deep-fried food. So, it only makes sense that we pair the two together for a hearty and scrumptious dish like this Katsu Curry (カツカレー). Don’t be surprised when I tell you there are so many paths to put this popular curry rice together!

In this recipe post, I’ve included various popular options to enjoy, including chicken katsu curry and pork katsu curry. But really, the combination is up to you!

What is Katsu Curry?

Katsu curry (カツカレー) is a combination of Japanese curry and a crispy cutlet (called katsu in Japanese) coated in panko breadcrumbs all served over steamed Japanese rice. It’s the ultimate comfort food when you crave a big, hearty meal. At speciality curry restaurants in Japan, you can choose different toppings to go with your curry rice, and katsu is one of them.

When I make curry at home, my husband always prefers to add katsu on top. He just can’t get enough of the crunchy katsu texture that pairs perfectly with the rich sauce and slightly sticky Japanese rice. I don’t blame him!

How to Make Katsu Curry at Home

My family never gets tired of eating this dish because we can switch things up easily. It’s a wonderful mix-and-match meal with many options to pair different kinds of curry and cutlet:

1. Choose Your Japanese Curry

My curry recipes below feature a main protein plus vegetables such as onion slices, carrots, and potatoes. We make the curry sauce from Japanese curry roux, ginger, garlic, chicken stock, grated apple, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, and black pepper.

On the Stovetop

• Japanese Chicken Curry
• Japanese Beef Curry
• Japanese Pork Curry
• Vegetarian Japanese Curry

In the Pressure Cooker

• Instant Pot Japanese Curry
• Instant Pot Seafood Curry

Use store-bought curry roux or make it from scratch ahead of time. My homemade version uses ingredients like Japanese curry powder (I use S&B brand), garam masala, all-purpose flour, and butter. See my Homemade Curry Roux recipe for instructions.

2. Choose Your Katsu

Katsu comes in many forms, and you can choose your own protein. Not a fan of pork or chicken? Use shrimp or fish!

Deep-Fried Katsu

• Tonkatsu (pork cutlet)
• Chicken Katsu (chicken breast cutlet)
• Crispy Tonkatsu (thin pork cutlet)
• Menchi Katsu (minced meat cutlet)
• Ham Katsu (ham cutlet)
• Ebi Fry (fried shrimp)

Baked Katsu

• Baked Tonkatsu
• Baked Chicken Katsu
• Gluten-Free Baked Chicken Katsu
• Baked Fish Katsu – use white fish instead of salmon for katsu curry
• Baked Ebi Katsu – shrimp cutlet

3. Make Your Rice

• Use only Japanese short-grain rice for an authentic taste.
• See how to make Japanese rice in a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
• You can use frozen cooked rice! See how to freeze and reheat Japanese rice in my post How to Store Cooked Rice.

How to Make Katsu Curry FAST

While you could make the three components from scratch all at once, it takes more effort and time. To simplify and shorten the cooking process, here’s how I usually put together my katsu curry recipe:

Option 1: Use the oven and pressure cooker. For hassle-free cooking, I often make fresh Japanese curry in the Instant pot and I bake the katsu in the oven.

Option 2: Reheat last night’s leftover curry. It’s easier to reheat the curry than make it from scratch. The flavor is better the next day as well. I usually cook my curry the night before, then warm it up while I cook fresh katsu.

Option 3: Defrost frozen leftovers. I often freeze Japanese curry and katsu for easy and quick meal prep! While you simmer, stir, and gently warm up the curry in a saucepan, you can reheat the katsu in the oven in 30 minutes or less. You can also reheat frozen cooked rice.

How To Assemble the Katsu Curry

To serve, place an individual portion of hot steamed rice on one side of a plate or bowl. Layer the sliced cutlet on the side of the rice in the middle of the plate. Pour the curry on the other side of the cutlet. Garnish with half a hard-boiled egg and fukujinzuke (red pickled daikon).

Katsu curry is a hefty meal but tastes amazing and immensely satisfying. I hope you give the fabulous combo a try!

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Katsu Curry

4.76 from 61 votes

Let's make flavorful Japanese Katsu Curry at home! Serve a crunchy, panko-breaded chicken cutlet or pork cutlet over steamed rice and smother it in a rich curry sauce. I'll share my tips and tricks to help you put together this ultimate comfort dish fast. This recipe shows you how to assemble Japanese Katsu Curry. Please read the blog post to see how to customize your own.

Print Pin

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Servings: 1 (depends)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ your choice of Japanese curry (Read the post for choices)
• ▢ your choice of katsu (cutlet) (Read the post for choices)
• ▢ cooked Japanese short-grain rice
• ▢ fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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Instructions

 

To Prepare the Japanese Curry

• Make your choice of Japanese curry: Beef Curry, Chicken Curry, Instant Pot Curry, Pork Curry, Instant Pot Seafood Curry, Vegetarian Curry, and more on the blog post. If you have time, I recommend making the curry one day before you serve the Katsu Curry. The flavor is better the next day, and it's easier to reheat the curry rather than making it from scratch while you prepare the Katsu.

To Prepare the Katsu

• Make your choice of katsu (cutlet): Tonkatsu, Baked Tonkatsu, Chicken Katsu, Baked Chicken Katsu, Gluten-Free Baked Katsu, Fried Shrimp, Baked Ebi Katsu, Baked Fish Katsu, Menchi Katsu, and more on the blog post.

To Make the Steamed Rice

• Make the cooked Japanese short-grain rice (I recommend serving Japanese short-grain rice with Japanese curry) using a rice cooker, a pot over the stovetop, a pressure cooker (Instant Pot), or a donabe.

To Serve the Katsu Curry

• Serve an individual portion of steamed rice on a plate or bowl and ladle some Japanese curry alongside the rice. Place the Katsu on the top. Garnish it with fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables) on the side.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 627 kcal · Carbohydrates: 64 g · Protein: 50 g · Fat: 18 g · Saturated Fat: 8 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 2 g · Cholesterol: 214 mg · Sodium: 875 mg · Potassium: 1090 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 10 g · Vitamin A: 5641 IU · Vitamin C: 9 mg · Calcium: 75 mg · Iron: 4 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: chicken katsu, curry, tonkatsu

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