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    You are Here: Masala Herb » Recipes » Chicken

    Pan-Fried Chicken Katsu Recipe

    Feb 6, 2025 by Helene Dsouza

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    • Bluesky
    Helene Dsouza
    Homemade chicken katsu, prepared with panko and deep fried golden.
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    4 chicken pieces
    RECIPE
    katsu cutlet
    katsu chicken cut into strips
    close up Chicken Katsu Recipe

    Prepare chicken katsu at home. This recipe for coated panko chicken katsu includes instructions to pan-fry over the stove top.

    Chicken Katsu Recipe cover picture
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    Jump to:
    • What is Chicken Katsu?
    • Ingredient Notes
    • Process Overview
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Storing
    • Serving Ideas
    • FAQs
    • 💬 Comments

    What is Chicken Katsu?

    Chicken Katsu is boneless chicken meat, coated with a layer, all-purpose flour, egg, and Japanese panko bread crumbs.

    Essentially it's a deep-fried chicken from Japan and it's wildly popular there!

    The word Katsu is a short version of the Japanese word for cutlet.

    Another Japanese meat cutlet is pork Tonkatsu, which is prepared the same way. The difference is the choice of meat. Basically, chicken katsu is a variation of tonkatsu.

    Chicken katsu also resembles other meat cutlets such as the Israeli Sesame Chicken Schnitzel and therefore also the Wiener Schnitzel or the Chicken Cordon Bleu.

    Another delicious Japanese fried chicken that you might want to try is chicken karaage.

    golden fried katsu

    Ingredient Notes

    • Chicken — the choice of chicken cuts is usually breast or thighs. We used thighs in the images because these chicken cuts are more flavoreful than the breast.
    • Salt
    • All-purpose flour
    • Egg
    • Panko Breadcrumbs — these make for a lighter fried breading experience than conventional breadcrumbs.
    • Oil — vegetable oil or sunflower oil.

    Chicken breast is more commonly available but boneless chicken thighs are more flavorful and turn out juicier. Breast meat dries out faster. Use whichever you prefer.

    You will need a lot of oil because Japanese meat katsu cutlets are deep-fried.

    Panko breadcrumbs are commonly available around the world in supermarkets. You can get them online too or in your neighborhood specialized Asian store.

    Process Overview

    This is an overview of how it's made from scratch. The full recipe with US and metric measurements and instructions is located further below in the recipe card.

    Step 1

    Pat dry chicken with a paper towel and season chicken on both sides with salt.

    pat dry chicken and season with salt

    Step 2

    Prepare two trays. One with scrambled egg and another with panko bread crumbs.

    scramble egg and prepare a tray with panko

    Step 3

    Coat chicken on both sides with flour.

    Dip chicken in egg and then coat with panko on both sides.

    coat chicken with flour, dip in egg and coat at last with panko

    Step 4

    Heat up a deep pan, wok, or deep fryer with oil. Wait for the oil to get hot.

    Place chicken into hot oil and deep fry both sides golden.

    deep fry chicken golden

    Step 5

    Cut fried chicken into strips and enjoy.

    cut chicken into strips

    📖 Recipe

    katsu cutlet

    Pan-Fried Chicken Katsu Recipe

    Homemade chicken katsu, prepared with panko and deep fried golden.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Asian, Japanese
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 chicken pieces
    Calories: 337kcal
    Recipe by: Helene Dsouza

    Ingredients

    • 4 pieces Chicken Boneless *see Notes
    • ½ Teaspoon Salt
    • 2 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
    • 1 Egg
    • 2 cups Panko Crumbs
    • 3 cups Oil
    US - Metric

    Instructions

    • Place chicken on a clean surface and pat dry all sides with a paper towel.
      4 pieces Chicken Boneless
    • Sprinkle salt all over, both sides.
      ½ Teaspoon Salt
    • Prepare 2 trays. One with scrambled egg and the other with panko crumbs.
      1 Egg, 2 cups Panko Crumbs
    • Place chicken into a tray and sprinkle flour all over. Coat chicken well with flour both sides.
      2 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
    • Dip chicken in egg, so that it's properly covered with egg.
    • Then place chicken into panko crumbs and coat well all over.
    • Pour oil into a wok or deep fryer. Keep over high heat and wait for it to get hot, however, the oil shouldn't smoke. Test if oil is hot enough by dropping a panko crumb into the oil, if it catches on, your oil is ready.
      3 cups Oil
    • Place coated chicken into the hot oil and cook on all sides till golden. Turn in between so that both sides are cooked equally well.
    • Take out the chicken when golden fried. Best is if you place it into a dripping tray.
    • Cut chicken into strips and serve up.

    Notes

    1. Use cut open 2 chicken thighs into 4 pieces or use 1 large chicken breast, butterfly that, and cut into two again.
    2. For the oil use vegetable oil or canola oil.
    3. I like to use baking dishes as trays to coat chicken. Or else buy trays or use deep plates.

    Equipment

    • Trays or shallow plates
    • Wok or Deep Frier
    • Cooking chop sticks or spatula

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Pan-Fried Chicken Katsu Recipe
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 337 Calories from Fat 216
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 24g37%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Trans Fat 1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 7g
    Monounsaturated Fat 14g
    Cholesterol 42mg14%
    Sodium 527mg22%
    Potassium 82mg2%
    Carbohydrates 25g8%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 2g2%
    Protein 6g12%
    Vitamin A 60IU1%
    Vitamin C 1mg1%
    Calcium 62mg6%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Storing

    Keep the fried chicken in an airtight container, store it in your fridge, and use it up within a day or so.

    I prefer to warm it up in the oven at a lower heat setting for about 10 minutes or so. That way, the katsu chicken is reheated gradually.

    As with any fried chicken or breaded meat, you can choose to freeze it too by coating the chicken as instructed but skipping the cooking part.

    Instead, you place the panko-coated chicken over a tray, and you keep that tray in the freezer until the meat is frozen hard.

    Then you place the breaded chicken into a freezer-friendly container and store it in the freezer.

    I recommend storing it for up to 2 weeks in your freezer at most.

    To that, the chicken just keeps in the fridge to gradually defrost overnight. When the meat has thawed, you just need to fry it as per the recipe instructions.

    fried Japanese chicken strips

    Serving Ideas

    Chicken katsu is cut into strips after the cooking process, when it's still hot but manageable. Katsu strips are added to bento boxes in Japan.

    The panko fried chicken is usually served in Japan over rice, with shredded cabbage, vegetables, or with a miso soup. When the chicken is served over rice, it is called katsudon.

    A napa cabbage salad or Japanese cabbage salad tastes great as a side dish with katsu chicken.

    It's also commonly served with brown Japanese curry sauce, which is a curry based on a spiced curry roux. The UK loves chicken katsu curry!

    Chicken Katsu is also commonplace in other countries, such as Australia and the US (especially Hawaii), where it can be served with a tonkatsu sauce.

    You can also serve up chicken katsu with your ramen noodles or ramen noodle soup. Or how about katsu cutlets with your yakisoba stir-fried noodles?

    Another delicious idea is to switch surimi for fried chicken strips to make an inside-out sushi roll like the California roll.

    Or how about a Chicken Katsu Sandwich with a Japanese Pao bun?

    FAQs

    Panko VS regular Breadcrumbs, what's the difference?

    Japanese panko breadcrumbs are made from crustless bread. They are flakes-dried and absorb way less oil during the deep-frying process, but they still look golden perfectly fried. Regular breadcrumbs can be made with any white or whole flour bread, but the crust is used, and they are turned into smaller pieces.

    How to make chicken katsu nuggets?

    Cut the chicken cutlets into smaller nugget-sized pieces. Coat and cook each as per the recipe instructions.

    Chicken Katsu Recipe pin image
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    I am Helene, and I created Masala Herb in 2011. Here you will learn to cook with spices and herbs. I share from scratch, international food recipes and my mission is to teach you to cook flavorful food at home. Read More…

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    Comments

      5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    1. Vickie Davis says

      August 12, 2022 at 5:40 pm

      5 stars
      Fantastic recipe! Made this for dinner last night with
      Rice, salad and simple katsu sauce, will be doing this again, so good!

      Reply
      • Helene Dsouza says

        August 21, 2022 at 3:42 pm

        Glad you loved it Vickie! I'll be posting the katsu curry sauce version soon!

        Reply

    Welcome

    Hi there! I'm Helene and here you will learn how to cook with spices and herbs. Discover global food and learn to season your food like a pro. Read more about my work and mission or head over to my food ingredient space, Unknownbite.com, and our travel space, Paulmarina.com!

    More About Me ->








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