Succulent Chicken Katsu Curry

This is like falling off logs – do try it. Once you do it will become a family favourite. NB: the curry blocks were once my secret weapon in the kitchen – but you can’t expect the retail giant research teams to miss something this good, so the ingredient  – once available in Japanese grocers only – it is now widely available.

1. Start with the rice. Wash the rice for 2-3 minutes, changing water often until the water is clear. Leave it to drain for 25 minutes. Put the rice and cold water in a large heavy pan with a lid and bring rapidly to the boil. Reduce to lowest heat setting and place the lid on the pan. Cook for 15 minutes and turn off the heat leaving the lid on for a further 15 minutes. (Don’t open the lid during the cooking.)
2. Heat the stock and water. Use a separate sauce pan and bring to the boil.
3. Prepare, fry and boil the vegetables – then make the sauce. Wash, peel and chop the vegetables and put into a large deep pan. Add the bay leaves and fry gently for 10 minutes. Add the hot stock and water and bring to a simmer cook for 15 minutes – or until the potatoes and carrots are nearly cooked. (Move onto the chicken whilst the vegetables are cooking.) To finish the sauce, peel and make very thin julienne pieces of ginger about 2 cm long, chop the curry cubes and add the ginger and curry to the pan stirring until the cubes have dissolved – continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are still firm but tender.
4. Prepare and shallow fry the chicken. Turn the fillets so the smooth outer side is facing down. Cut flaps in the fillet in both directions and open out – you now have a fillet half the thickness. You can use it like this or flatten it a little more. To flatten further, put the fillet in between two pieces of cling and beat gently with a meat hammer or rolling pin. Cut into 2 or 3 manageable pieces. Make 4 bowls with milk,  flour, 1 or 2 beaten eggs, and panko. Work the chicken through these bowls in the order given, using one hand for a dry bowl and one for the wet. Stack on a plate and continue with the rest of the chicken. Heat a large deep pan with about 2 cm of oil – get the oil to 180 C – and fry the chicken. You are aiming to keep the oil very hot (but without smoking) this will give you golden pieces of chicken, without being over or under-cooked
5. Assemble and serve. Whilst the chicken is cooking the other parts will be ready. Cut the chicken if you are using chopsticks or leave whole. Serve with rice and curry sauce. Edamame beans would be a good side dish.