Low-Carb Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry Recipe

Katsu chicken is a delicious dish with Japanese origins. Crisp, crunchy coated chicken paired with a rich and tangy curry sauce – what’s not to like?

We’ve used flaked almonds to coat our chicken breast, and rather than deep frying this dish we have baked it in the oven. You could pair this dish with steamed basmati rice if you are not following a low-carb diet, and we have included the macros for both options below.

This dish can be prepared in under 30 minutes and contains over 40g of protein per serving.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

• 50g flaked almonds
• ½ tsp curry powder
• 2 chicken breasts (roughly 150g each)

For the salad, and garnish:

• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber
• 1 lime
• 20g cashews
• 1tbsp rice vinegar
• Half a red chilli
• 10g fresh coriander

For the Sauce:

• 1 clove garlic
• ½ white onion (100g)
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1-inch piece of root ginger
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 star anise
• ½ tsp turmeric

Method:

1. Pulse the flaked almonds in a food processor with the ½ tsp curry powder.

Note: You can substitute the flaked almonds for ground almonds if you don’t have a food processor, but the flaked almonds give a texture more reminiscent of Japanese Panko breadcrumbs.

2. Coat the chicken breasts in the ground almond mix and place on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven at 180C for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
3. To prepare the curry sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the diced white onions, minced garlic and the root ginger. Finely chop the ginger before adding to the saucepan.
4. Next, add the curry powder, turmeric and star anise and stir well to combine.
5. Allow to simmer until the onions are translucent and then add 350ml of water, a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of black pepper.
6. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove the star anise and transfer to a food processor, to blend into a smooth curry sauce.

Note: You could use a hand blender if you don’t have a food processor.

7. Prepare your salad by cutting your carrot and cucumber into thin ribbons and placing in a mixing bowl. Pour over the rice vinegar, 2 tbsp of water and the juice from half a lime, and allow to rest for 10 minutes in the fridge.
8. Slice the red chilli and fresh coriander.
9. Drain the salad and toss the chilli and coriander through the mix. Serve on the side of the plate.
10. Next, add the chicken breast and pour over the curry sauce. Garnish with a lime wedge and the chopped cashews to serve.

Optional: As pictured, you could serve this dish with pickled ginger. Our simple recipe for pickled ginger involves finely peeling and slicing a small piece of root ginger, and leaving in a mixing bowl with 2 tbsp of sea salt, for 30 minutes. This reduces the ‘heat’ of the fresh ginger. Rinse with water, then submerge in 50ml of rice vinegar and 50ml of water. Allow to sit for at least 1 hour, and then remove to serve.

Macros:

Calories: 440.4 Carbs: 18g Fat: 22.4g Protein: 41.7g

Higher Carb: If you are following a high carb diet, you could add a 100g serving of steamed basmati rice to this dish. The macros would differ as follows:

Calories: 556.4 Carbs: 43.4g Fat: 22.8g Protein: 44.4g

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