Homemade Katsu Kare and Chicken Karaage (Recipe)

We decided to do something different last Sunday. Instead of going to the mall like we normally do every Sunday, we decided to stay home for lunch. The whole idea was to expand our culinary range by trying out something we haven't cook before. We agreed to do something Japaneses since my wife is an avid lover of Japanese cuisine. After having narrowed down the choice to katsu kare and chicken karaage, it came down to who should cook. Since both my wife and I love to cook, it took more than just a session of paper, scissors or stone to decide the outcome. Eventually, I relented as should I continue to persevere on the matter, we wont get lunch done. She ruled the kitchen; at least for that moment while I contemplated ways not having to do the washing up later on.

Here are the list of items required for the kastsu kare:

• Vermont curry mix - You can purchase the curry mix from Cold Storage or from Jaya Jusco. They in bar like form like what you get in chocolates.
• 3 chicken breasts, diced and pounded till 2 cm thick. Kastsu kare as the name suggests is usually made of pork but we decided to substitute with chicken.
• 2 small carrots
• 4 potatoes
• 4 onions

To cook, here are the instructions:

1. Cut the meat (chicken, pork or beef according to your preference), onions, potatoes and carrots into bite size. Saute in the sauce pan till lightly browned.
2. Add about 6 cups of water and bring to boil. Cook over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes till tender.
3. Remove from heat. Break curry sauce mix into pieces (we used about 4 bars) and mix into sauce pan.
4. Cook over low heat for another 20 minutes or until the curry thickens.
   

Here's the curry sauce mix that we used. It's easy to use, extremely yummy and more importantly, you can use it for 4-5 meals.

A snap shot of the ingredients that were used.





As for the recipe for the chicken karaage, here are the items that were used:

• 2 boneless chicken - all cut in bite size.
• bread crumbs (as shown on the picture below)
• egg
• 2-3 tbs of soy sauce for marinating
• 2-3 tbs of mirin for marinating
• garlic for marinating
• grated ginger juice for marinating

To cook, here are the instructions:

1. Combine all the marinate ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
2. Dip the chicken into the egg and coat with flour.
3. Deep fry at 180 C for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown.

The bread crumbs that was used to coat the chicken. Not sure what the brand is since everything was written in Japanese. If you manage to figure it out, let me know.

The end result - crispy, golden brown chicken.

The combination of the kastu kare and chicken karaage with rice. Very delicious. You would think that you were in a Japanese restaurant having a meal. The kare sauce is what made this dish special.

Both recipes are really simple so give it a try. It would also save you quite a bit than having to go to restaurants. In fact, they were so good that I decided to volunteer to do the washing up. As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Right on!