rice topping

Recipe: Chicken Katsudon

Recipe for Chicken Katsudon

I am new to cooking, and I have realized I have enjoyed it. Being an immigrant and (still) jobless, I needed to do something that actually keeps my mind away from all the worrying and the job hunting, and cooking does that for me.

I have been craving for Chicken Katsudon for about a week and decided to cook some. I know most people use pork for their katsudon, but since I’m not much of a pork fan, I want mine with chicken. Do note it’s not the original japanese recipe, and I had to find substitutes for some of the ingredients, and this is what I have used for my own version of Chicken katsudon. This recipe is good for one serving of Chicken Katsudon. This is also my first time posting a recipe so… go easy on me lol.

Chicken Katsudon

Ingredients for Chicken Katsudon

For coating:

  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup regular bread crumbs (in substitute for japanese panko)
  • 1/2 egg, lightly beaten
  • Vegetable oil, for pan frying
  • a pinch of salt and pepper

For sauce:

  • 1/6 cup water
  • 3 tsp light soy sauce
  • 3 tsp rice vinegar
  • 3 tsp white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
  • Onion, half rings (as few or as many as desired)
  • small carrot, (julienned) for garnish/topping
  • 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
  • white rice

Steps:

*For a pack of chicken breasts (which has two halves), I only use half of it which is good for two to three servings, depending on how thick you want your chicken fillet. Cut it horizontally to get your desired thickness.

  1. Pound chicken (optional) and then season with salt and pepper. While waiting for oil to heat up in a pan, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg, and the cover with breadcrumbs and pan-fry it. Make sure both sides are cooked and golden brown. (I chose not to deep fry. I fried the chicken in medium-high heat)
  2. Slice chicken into strips and set aside and start working on sauce.
  3. In a bowl, mix the water, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar. Make sure sugar is dissolved in the mix.
  4. In a pan, put a small amount of vegetable oil on low-medium heat and then when the pan’s heated up, put the sauce mixture into the pan, add the onions, and let it simmer for two minutes.
  5. Put the chicken strips in the sauce and let it simmer and cook for a minute or two.
  6. Pour the lightly beaten egg on top of the chicken strips and cover the pan again and let it simmer. At this time, you could choose to finish cooking. However, I for one want the egg cooked. So I flip the egg-covered chicken strips and make sure that the egg is cooked a little bit more so I let it simmer for 30 seconds to a minute.
  7. Put your rice in a bowl, making sure there’s enough space to put the chicken on. Top the rice with the chicken and the sauce (there wouldn’t be much sauce left in my recipe because it is absorbed by the chicken and mixed into the egg as well). Put carrot as garnish or topping and serve.

It’s pretty easy for a beginner cook like me and my husband and father-in-law loved it when I served it for lunch a couple of days ago. I hope you enjoy it too!

*If you want more sauce, just double the amount of ingredients for the sauce.