Author Pam - For the Love of Cooking / Original by Serious Eats
Equipment
Large Cast Iron Skillet or Large Nonstick Skillet
Meat Pounder
Wire Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Chicken Katsu:
2boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1cupflour
2 largeeggs, well whisked
1½cupspanko bread crumbs
4tbspvegetable oil, divided, more as needed
For Serving:
green scallions, sliced thinly
Green cabbage, finely shredded**Season with a bit of rice vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Lemon wedges
Instructions
Prepare the chicken breasts by cutting them into cutlets. Starting at the thick end of the breast, with a long, sharp knife, carefully slice the chicken breast in half lengthwise into two even pieces, keeping the knife blade parallel to the surface of the cutting board.
Place the cutlets, one at a time, in a heavy-duty zipper-lock bag and pound gently to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat pounder.
Season both sides of the chicken cutlets well with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, and garlic powder, to taste. Place uncovered into the refrigerator for 1-4 hours. Side Note: Don't skip this step! It really does make the chicken so much juicier!
Make a breading assembly line with three separate shallow bowls. First, pour the flour in a bowl then season with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic powder, to taste; mix well. Next, combine the panko crumbs in a shallow bowl and season with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic powder, to taste; mix well. Finally, whisk together the eggs seasoned with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic powder, to taste in the third bowl; whisk until very well combined.
Dredge the chicken by dipping each cutlet (using a fork) first into the flour mixture, next coat it in the egg mixture, then press the cutlets firmly into the panko mixture on both sides until evenly coated. Place in one layer on a plate lined with parchment paper, separating the layers of cutlets by parchment paper, as needed. Place the coated cutlets uncovered into the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Side Note: Don't skip this step, it helps the coating really adhere to the chicken.
Cook the chicken cutlets by heating 2 tablespoons of oil in cast iron skillet(s) or large nonstick skillet(s) over medium-high heat until hot. Place the coated chicken cutlets directly into the HOT skillet and cook for 2 minutes, or until golden brown, making sure to cook the chicken in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan.
Carefully flip the chicken over to cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown then remove to a wire cooling rack. Finish the process with the remaining chicken. Side Note: Wipe out the skillet(s) between batches THEN add the more oil to the skillet(s) before cooking the remaining chicken.
Slice the chicken katsu into thin strips and topped with green scallions and served with lightly seasoned shredded cabbage (dressed with fresh lemon juice or rice vinegar, to taste), lemon wedges, garlic rice, Asian cucumber salad, and tonkatsu sauce.