Allergy-friendly chicken katsu
Chicken katsu is Japanese fried chicken cutlet, traditionally using egg to bind panko crumbs to the chicken. Much has been written about what egg substitute works best when breading chicken, and I’ve found that Just Egg works best.
A word about Just Egg. It is made in a facility with eggs. If you go to their website, you can read all about their facility cleaning practices and determine if it will be safe for your family. You can also read a Just Egg profile from the allergy experts at Spokin.
Check out the video of this recipe on The Asian Allergy Mom on Instagram.
Allergy-friendly chicken katsu
Serves 4 (or more!)
Ingredients:
1.75 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of Just Egg
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
Vegetable or canola oil for frying
Directions:
Cut chicken thighs into chicken strip-like pieces. One medium chicken thigh should make about 4 strips.
Set up your flour, Just Egg and panko stations, as well as a container large enough to hold all the pieces until you’re ready to cook.
Two pieces at a time, dredge chicken pieces into flour on both sides, shaking off excess. Then, dip chicken into Just Egg, making sure to coat it completely, then letting excess drip off back into bowl. Last, coat chicken pieces in panko crumbs, pressing crumbs into chicken. Place into container. Repeat with all chicken pieces. If prepping to cook later, seal the container and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook.
When you’re ready to cook, pour oil into frying pan so it’s about 1 inch deep. Turn on heat to medium. Oil will be ready when one piece of panko dropped into the oil sizzles.
Using tongs or chopsticks, gently place chicken pieces into hot oil. Make sure not to crowd the chicken pieces. In a large 12” pan, about 5-6 chicken pieces should be the max. Less in a smaller pan.
When bottom of chicken turns a golden brown, it is ready to flip - about 4-5 minutes. When second side is also brown (3-5 minutes), remove chicken pieces and place them on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool. Continue in batches until all chicken is cooked.
Using clean kitchen scissors or a knife, slice chicken pieces into strips and serve with rice.
Allergens: wheat (for wheat-free, use wheat-free panko crumbs and wheat-free flour)
A few notes:
The typical sauce used for katsu is Bulldog Tonkatsu Sauce. It’s a sweet, savory sauce, similar to barbecue sauce.
If you’re not interested in shallow frying with oil, please check out Just One Cookbook’s excellent Baked Chicken Katsu recipe for the technique.
