Better-Than-Any-Restaurant Chicken Katsu

I know I should be studying. I have a comprehensive, test-how-well-you-can-remember-everything-from-your-undergraduate-career type of exam coming up in less than 2 weeks. For me that was years ago (guess how long that was?!). But what am I doing instead? Finding things to distract me. It has become absolutely imperative I clean the grout in my bathroom. And the moss from between the cracks on our front steps. And sort out our junk drawers (yes, we have more than one!). But as you can tell from my lack of posts, cooking and blogging have not been part of those distractions. Those would be fun activities, and if I’m going to waste time doing anything but what I’m supposed to be doing, then I shouldn’t enjoy it, right? Like my logic?

And who could really concentrate with the election drama these last two weeks? Even before Tuesday, I realized how emotionally invested I was in this election. Tuesday was the climax, with all that stress and anxiety building up. Wednesday saw the gradual release of all that tension and a sense of exhilaration. Friends and relatives from overseas have emailed me to congratulate us. People I didn’t even think were paying attention! Finally today, I’m getting a sense of “back to real life and work.” My tile grout might look sparkling clean, but the dishes and unpaid bills need to be addressed! Not to mention that test. Gaaah!

But lest you think I’ve been feeding my family microwave dinners these past weeks (okay, only occasionally), I have come with proof otherwise. In essence it’s chicken katsu, but really that doesn’t say anything but chicken and panko. This is more than that because I’ve added miso paste before dredging the chicken. Still, that doesn’t really describe how good this is. It’s not just dipped in miso, but miso that has been spiked with ginger, garlic, and tamari. Then the pieces are dredged in flour, egg, and panko and pan-fried till golden brown, sealing in that awesome punch of flavor.

I know this picture just doesn't do this dish justice. All the good stuff is underneath that crispy panko coating. And the dipping sauce is a slightly sweet, yet very savory compliment.

If you haven’t used miso before, this is the perfect time to try. I know buying special ingredients can be annoying because you may use it for one dish. And if you end up not even liking that one dish, then it's a real waste of money. But no worries here. This dish will be a hit and you’ll want to make it over and over again. And miso lasts just about forever stored in your fridge, so you don’t have to make this over again and again all in the same week.☺





Miso-dipped Chicken Katsu
Serves 4 to 5

• 2 tbs white miso
• 1.5 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs tamari (regular soy sauce if fine)
• 1 tbs mirin (optional)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 knob ginger, minced or grated (about ½ to 1 tbs minced)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or pork loin chops), pounded to a thin, uniform thickness
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten for coating
• All purpose flour for dredging
• panko crumbs for coating

For the dipping sauce:

• 3 tbs mirin
• 3 tbs tamari
• 1 tbs sugar (more or less to taste)
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• dash of toasted sesame oil
• toasted sesame seeds (to taste)
• pinch of Japanese or Korean chili powder (to taste, optional)

Start by combining the miso, sugar, tamari, mirin, garlic, and ginger to make a paste. Rub all over the chicken or combine with the chicken in a large bowl and allow it to rest for a little while you prepare the sauce, the dredging ingredients and get your rice (or whatever you want to serve with this) going.

To make the sauce, just combine everything in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set it aside until ready to serve. You may want to give it a quick stir every now and then to make sure the sugar goes into solution.

Put the flour, beaten eggs and panko crumbs into 3 separate deep plates (or whatever setup you like to use for dredging) close to where you are going to do the frying. In a skillet, heat about a half inch or so of oil for shallow pan-frying over medium-high heat. Deep-frying is another alternative, but I find no advantage doing it that way. It’s just a waste of oil. When the oil is hot (test by adding dry panko crumbs; they should sizzle right away), quickly dredge the chicken in flour (shake off excess), then egg, then panko. Add to the hot oil and allow to fry until golden on one side. Turn and do it on the other side. Don’t crowd the chicken; you may need to fry in batches, depending on how large your skillet is. And here’s where you need to watch the heat. If the panko is browning too fast, turn down the heat a little. Cooking time will depend on how thick the pieces are. I think it took anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and allow to rest on paper towels or on a rack (my preferred method).

Serve with Japanese sticky rice, dipping sauce and whatever other tasty side dishes you’d like. I’ve done a carrot-ginger stir-fry and a cabbage-celery stir-fry. Even steamed broccoli will do.

Did I mention this works beautifully with boneless pork loin chops? Be sure to pound them thin as well if they are too thick.


I’m submitting this recipe to Regional Recipes, a blogging event celebrating world foods! The region this time is Japan and the host is Wandering Chopsticks. If you have a tasty recipe, please do share! Deadline for submissions is November 15th and you can send them to wanderingchopsticks(at)gmail(dot)com. Check out the rules on the Regional Recipes main page. And be sure to check out the round-up around the 20th to see the other submissions and find out the next region. Wanna host a future event? Let me know and I’ll put you on the list.


Other Japanese-inspired dishes you may like:
pan-fried udon noodles with shiitakes and beef

Pan-fried Udon Noodles with Beef, Broccoli and Shiitakes

As promised, I’m posting the recipe for pan-fried udon noodles, a dish that I submitted to Citymama’s $10 dinner challenge. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you! I made this dish for under $10! You can read the original post here. Who says flavorful, healthy, low-cost meals can’t be had anymore?

Someone made the comment that this dish looked sensual. That gave me a good chuckle.

This is a versatile recipe and you can use any vegetables you choose. Same goes with the meat or you could leave it out all together. I do recommend the shiitakes though. They really add a nice flavor and texture. The udon noodles also have a nice texture and they are just fun to eat in the same way spaghetti is fun to eat. I think kids and adults alike can enjoy this dish.


Pan-fried Udon Noodles with Beef, Broccoli and Shiitakes
Serves 3 to 4

• 1 package dried udon noodles (usually sold in 8.8 oz packages) or about 1 pound fresh udon noodles
• 10 ounces chuck steak, sliced for stir-frying
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• ¼ cup + 1 tbs mirin (keep divided)
• ¼ cup low sodium tamari (or 3 tbs regular soy sauce)
• 2 tsp sugar (more to taste)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbs minced ginger
• ½ pound broccoli, cut for stir-frying
• 1 ounce dried shitake mushrooms
• 1 tbs sesame seeds, toasted

If using dried noodles, boil them first for about 3 or 4 minutes less than indicated on the package. You’ll cook them further when you stir-fry them. Drain and rinse them with cold water. Allow them to drain well and toss them with a little oil if you aren’t ready to us them right away.

Soak the mushrooms in boiling water until they soften up. Squeeze them dry and set aside until needed.

In a small bowl, combine the sliced beef, cornstarch and 1 tbs mirin. Mix well and allow to marinate for 10 minutes or so while you prepare the other ingredients.

Make the sauce by combining the remaining mirin, tamari and sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.

Once all your ingredients are ready, heat a wok over high heat. When hot, add about 1 to 2 tbs oil (try refined sesame oil, it’s appropriate for stir-frying). When it gets really hot, throw in the marinating meat and garlic. Quickly stir-fry until just no longer pink, but not until done. Remove from the wok and set aside. Add a little more oil if necessary then add the ginger, broccoli, and mushrooms. On top of that add the cold, drained noodles. Stir-fry without over-stirring for about 2 minutes. The noodles should begin to take on some color and the broccoli should begin to soften. Once the noodles are warmed through, add about half of the sauce and allow the noodles to absorb it. Covering the wok helps this go a little faster. Then add the beef back in and the remaining sauce. Once the sauce is absorbed and the beef is cooked through, you’re done!

To serve, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

A Tasty Meal for Under $10!

Citymama’s $10 food challenge has been quite eye opening. I knew that I could make a delicious dinner for my family within that budget, but I was curious to see how far that would really take me. Would I be able to squeeze in more than just an entrée? Would I have to cut out the meat? I was surprised at what I found.

The dish I decided to make was pan-fried udon noodles. I made this dish a couple of weeks ago using beef, shitake mushrooms and broccoli, but of course I didn’t calculate how much it cost. I assumed it would put me over the $10 limit, so I decided to do it with tofu this time. We’re trying to eat less meat anyways. As it turns out, made with tofu, broccoli and carrots, the dish came in at $5.64, well under the $10 limit. With over $4 left over, I could squeeze in a simple salad (lettuce and cucumber sprinkled with sesame seeds) with nice a miso dressing. A balanced, tasty meal for $10!





Since I came in far under budget with the vegetarian version, I wondered how much it would cost to do it with beef. My preference is to use grass-fed beef (chuck steak), which cost $5.99/ lb at Whole Foods. The same cut of conventional beef at Safeway was $5.29 / lb. I expected the difference to be bigger. The big surprise, though, was Safeway’s price for stir-fry cut beef, over $7/ lb!!! It definitely pays to cut it yourself. Besides, they use a machine to cut the beef, rather than purposely cutting against the grain. Big no no, unless you like tough meat. Long story short—using 10 ounces of grass-fed beef still kept the price under $10 ($8.24 to be exact). Not enough left over to squeeze in the salad, but as Hubby pointed out, enough for a beer with his meal.


One way I keep costs down is to shop around. Whole Foods and Safeway are convenient for me, so that’s where I end up the most. I’ll make a trip to a big Asian supermarket (usually Fubonn or Uwajimaya) every couple of weeks or so. I could get a lot of my Asian sauces at the other two, but I rarely do. Asian products are cheaper at an Asian market. Here is an example. Mirin costs $3.58 for a 17-oz bottle at Fubonn. At Safeway and Whole Foods it’s $5.49 and $8.99 for only 10.5 ounces, respectively. I once saw Sriracha for $5.99 for a 28oz bottle at a local supermarket, but it’s only $2.58 for the same size at Fubonn. It’s smart to get to familiar with your local ethnic markets, no?

If you 're interested to see the cost breakdown, click on the file link 10dollarchallenge.doc.
You'll see the prices I paid, the amounts I used and where I got the item.

If you want more $10 meal ideas, check out Citymama’s site in the next couple of days to see the round-up.