Katsu Chicken Plate Lunch

Description:

Many of you may recognize Katsu chicken from Japanese cuisine and wonder how it ended up being part of traditional Hawaiian cuisine. This dish originated on pineapple plantations in the 1880’s, where workers would bring their lunches to work in bento boxes. This dish soon evolved to become popular throughout Hawaii in the decades to come, and is still an iconic aspect of Hawaiian cuisine to this day. There are a variety of combinations that you can use for an authentic Hawaiian plate lunch. This specific recipe uses katsu chicken, but some other common meat dishes include kalua pork, loco moco and huli huli chicken.

Ingredients:

• Steamed white rice

Macaroni Salad

• 1 cup dried macaroni (200 g)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (60 g)

• 1 small carrot, shredded

• 1 green onion, sliced thin

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (15 ml)

• 1 tsp sugar (6 g)

• 1/4 cup milk (60 ml)

• Salt & pepper

Katsu Chicken

• 1 thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1/2 cup flour (60 g)

• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (150 g)

• Salt & pepper

• 2 cups vegetable or peanut oil (480 ml)

Katsu Sauce

• 1/2 cup ketchup (60 g)

• 2 tbsp soy sauce (30 ml)

• 1 tbsp brown sugar (13 g)

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (5 ml)

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (2 g)

• 1/4 tsp ginger powder (2 g)

Preparation:

Boil macaroni per package instructions. Drain, then add to a bowl and add milk and allow to absorb into the pasta, about 10 minutes. Then mix in the mayonnaise, carrot, green onion, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

To make Katsu sauce, mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

To make Katsu chicken, pound the breast or thighs with a mallet to thin out evenly. Season chicken on both sides with salt & pepper. Then set up a breading station with one plate each of the flour, egg and bread crumbs. Heat the oil in a large pan over high heat. Coat the chicken evenly in the flour, then the beaten egg, and then the bread crumbs. Add to the hot oil until golden brown on the outside, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

To serve, plate the chicken along with a scoop of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad and a container of the sauce on the side.

Notes:

• Panko bread crumbs work best for this recipe but you can also use plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs as a substitute.