Brilio.net - At first glance, they are both fried chicken. But in fact, chicken katsu and geprek chicken are worlds apart. Chicken katsu from Japan is characterized by a light crispy outside, juicy inside, and served whole without being pounded with chili sauce. While Indonesian geprek chicken tends to be fried dry, then mashed with spicy chili sauce.
Well, if you feel like your cooking often goes astray on the geprek path when the goal is katsu, you might be missing an important technique when cooking it. In this article, we will explain the detailed steps to make authentic chicken katsu, complete with an explanation of panko, the key ingredient that makes katsu taste like its in a real Japanese restaurant.
Chicken Katsu: Not Just Fried ChickenChicken katsu is one of the popular menus in Japanese cuisine. Usually served with rice, shredded cabbage, and sweet-savory tonkatsu sauce. The crunchy but light texture makes this food popular with many people, including in Indonesia.
Unfortunately, many people still don't know that regular breadcrumbs are not the best choice for making chicken katsu. Using the wrong breadcrumbs can make the texture too hard, or even soft and easy to fall off.
Ingredients and How to Make Authentic Japanese Chicken Katsu (Not Disguised Geprek)Material:
- 2 pieces of chicken breast fillet (150200 grams each)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper powder
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (optional, for a more savory taste)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 50 grams of wheat flour
- 100 grams of panko bread crumbs
- Oil for frying (enough)
Panko is a type of Japanese bread crumb that is coarse, light, and porous. Compared to regular bread crumbs that are denser, panko is able to produce a super crispy outer layer but does not absorb much oil. This is the secret to the crispy but still light katsu appearancesimilar to the results of Japanese restaurant cooking.
Panko is usually available in large supermarkets, baking supply stores, or can be made yourself from dried and coarsely grated white bread.
How to make:
1. Clean and cut the chicken breast in half horizontally to make it thinner and easier to cook evenly.
2. Sprinkle the surface of the chicken with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Let stand for at least 15 minutes for the spices to soak in.
3. Prepare three containers: one containing flour, one containing beaten eggs, one containing panko.
4. Coat the chicken with flour, then dip it in the egg, and finally roll it in the panko until the entire surface is evenly covered.
5. Heat the oil over medium heat. Use the deep fry method or fry in a lot of oil so that the results are even and crispy.
6. Fry the chicken for about 23 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove and drain on a wire rack or paper towels.
7. Serve chicken katsu with warm white rice, shaved cabbage, and tonkatsu sauce or mayonnaise.
- Use Japanese panko instead of local breadcrumbs. The texture is crispier and lighter.
- Don't fry over high heatthe outside will burn quickly, but the inside may still be raw.
- After coating the chicken in panko, let it rest for 1015 minutes before frying. This helps the panko stick perfectly.
- Do not press it while frying. Let it float and flip it once so it doesn't break.
- Drain on a rack, not directly on paper towels to keep them crispy.
1. Wrong choice of bread flour. Using fine bread flour makes the result dense and less crispy.
2. Chicken is too thick. Unsplit chicken breast can leave the inside raw when fried.
3. The flour doesn't stick well. If the egg coating is insufficient, the panko will fall off when fried.
4. Unstable oil temperature. Oil that is too hot will burn the panko quickly, while oil that is too cold will absorb a lot of oil from the chicken.
5. Pressing it immediately after frying. This is a habit when making geprek chicken, but for chicken katsu it actually ruins the crispiness.
Yes, but it won't be like Japanese katsu. Panko gives it a light, crunchy texture. If you don't have any, you can use crustless bread that has been dried and roughly grated as an alternative.
Chicken katsu uses panko and is deep fried for a light crispy result. Crispy chicken generally uses seasoned flour batter and is fried until dry with a thicker layer.
Yes. A similar version is called Tonkatsu if it uses pork. For halal options, you can also use beef or fish fillets such as salmon katsu.
Because panko is made from dried white bread without baking it is colored, the result is lighter and does not absorb oil. Panko also makes fried food more "crunchy" but not hard.
Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that comes in large, light flakes. Local bread crumbs tend to be fine and dense. Panko gives katsu a crispy, light texturewhich is what sets it apart from regular fried chicken or geprek.
(brl/tin)
