Chicken Katsu with Golden Carrot Curry

Ingredients

• 150 g dry short-grain white rice
• 220 ml water for the rice
• 2 skinless chicken breast cutlets, 180 g each and about 1.5 cm thick
• 40 g plain flour, divided
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 70 g panko breadcrumbs
• 500 ml neutral oil for shallow-frying, not all absorbed
• 15 g unsalted butter
• 100 g onion, finely chopped
• 150 g carrot, cut into small half-moons
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 350 ml chicken stock
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 g fine salt
• 1/2 sheet nori, cut into fine strips
• 2 tsp white sesame seeds

Let’s make it

1. Rinse the rice, place in a small saucepan with 220 ml water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to low and cook for 15 minutes; remove from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in another saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and carrot for 6 minutes. Stir in 15 g of the flour, the curry powder and turmeric for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the stock. Add the soy sauce and sugar and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until the carrot is tender and the sauce coats a spoon.
3. Season the chicken with the salt. Put the remaining 25 g flour, beaten egg and panko into separate shallow dishes. Coat each cutlet in flour, then egg, then panko, pressing the crumbs on. Discard any coating ingredients that have touched raw chicken.
4. Heat a 1.5 cm depth of the frying oil in a deep frying pan to 340°F / 170°C; the pan must remain less than half full. Fry the cutlets in batches if necessary for about 4–5 minutes per side, adjusting the heat to keep the oil steady, until golden and 165°F / 74°C in the center.
5. Transfer the chicken to a rack for 3 minutes, then slice into strips. Fluff the rice and divide it between two wide bowls.
6. Spoon the carrot curry alongside the rice and add the sliced chicken. Scatter the nori strips and sesame seeds over the curry and cutlets.