Honey Garlic Chicken Katsu by Estelle Chait |@estee_bestie

[Kah-tzu: means cutlet in Japanese]

Chicken Katsu has its roots in the Japanese culture and, like many other Asian and

portuguese food, eventually found its way to the mixing pot of Hawaii. It is a highly popular

dish for the island locals, and back home was served plate-lunch style with a side of white

rice and mac salad.

Today, we’ll be giving it a twist and bathing the fried chicken in a sticky honey+garlic sauce.

The cutlets are then sliced into thin strips and served on a bed of rice, with pops of color

from scallions and black sesame seeds.

Ingredients:

Breading:

1-1 ½ kilo chicken breasts pounded to ½ inch thickness-or shnitzel pieces

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder

2 eggs

1-2 cups panko crumbs

Sauce:

⅔ cup honey

⅓ cup soy sauce

⅓ cup brown sugar

⅛ cup vinegar

3 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

5 garlic cloves(minced)

To Serve:

Jasmine rice(prepared according to package instructions)

scallions(thinly sliced on the diagonal)

black sesame seeds

Directions:

 For Breading:

Lay out three plates. In one, season flour with salt and garlic powder. In another, beat the

eggs. In a third, pour panko crumbs. One at a time, dredge chicken cutlets in flour, dip in the

egg, and coat with panko crumbs.

Lightly fry until golden and cooked through. Keep warm.

For Sauce:

Combine all sauce ingredients in a shallow pan(it needs to be wide enough to fit a large

cutlet)over high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat to medium

flame and continue to cook for 4 minutes, stirring to ensure the bottom doesn’t burn. The

sauce should thicken a bit. Keep warm.

To Serve:

Choose a shallow serving bowl or long platter. Pictured: plated on a banana leaf(this will get

you extra presentation points!).

Arrange rice on a platter. Working one at a time, dip cutlets into the hot sauce and place on

a cutting board. Using a large knife, slice diagonally into thin strips. Slide the knife under

slices, keeping the shape of the cutlet, and gently lay over the rice. You can double layer the

chicken. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and thinly cut scallions.

Estee was raised on the island of Kauai and moved to Israel at 18. She worked as a baker in the IDF, and trained as a chef in restaurants across Israel. She works professionally as a sushi chef and writes for her blog Soul and Streusel. Pop on over and say hello!
Check out her recipes at soulandstreusel.com and follow her on Instagram @estee_bestie