Once you try this katsu curry with breaded tofu, you’ll never go back to chicken! My kids, my friends and my family LOVE this incredible meal.
Get ready for your taste buds to come alive with this insatiable, savoury and delicious Japanese curry!
Why will you just LOVE It?!
- It’s vegan
- dairy free
- loaded with vegetables and
- can be made gluten-free!
- did I mention DELICIOUS?!
What is katsu curry?
Katsu curry is short form for “katsuretsu,” which means “cutlet” in Japanese. It a Japanese curry served with noodles bathed in a delicious vegetable sauce with a cutlet (in this case it’s a tofu cutlet) on top!
This is a recipe I prepare when company comes over. I’ve made it many times and each time it’s been such a hit! The tofu is crispy, the sauce is so delicious and the noodles are so slurpy! I get hungry just thinking about it.
The potatoes and mushrooms with the gravy is such a delicious combination. I love how tofu can replace just about any chicken recipe with the right spices and cooking method.
Suffice it to say, this is one of my favourite recipes!
How do you make katsu curry?
It may seem daunting to make this curry. You do need some time and patience but it will surely pay off!
Ingredients needed for this spectacular curry:
- Vegetables: Any will do. I chose red peppers, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms.
- Garlic and ginger: the staples of any curry!
- Onions: to give the flavour some depth.
- Algae water: an extra step, but I like soaking algae sheets and dried mushrooms in water to give it more of an umami taste
- Golden curry cube: I indulged and use this curry cube but if you want to make your own I found this website showing you how!
- Vegetable stock: home made or your own!
- Tomato paste: just to give it some colour, flavor and thickness!
- Sesame seed oil: I LOVE using sesame seed oil when it comes to making Asian cuisine but if you’d rather use olive oil, that’s okay!
Method to make katsu curry sauce
In a medium bowl, saute your onions until soft and slightly golden brown. Add all the ingredients except the vegetables and bring it to a boil.
This is a personal preference, but I like blending the onions into the curry so it becomes a smooth texture. You can keep it in the curry without blending it. I then add my vegetables and let it simmer for a half hour. Make your noodles in the meanwhile and keep it aside.
See below for prep work for the tofu.
What kind of noodles should I use?
Honestly, anything will work with noodles. I prefer chow mein, rice noodles or ramen noodles for this curry.
How to prepare your tofu
So this step takes a bit of time. You could skip the milk and breading part and just bake it or fry it after just coating it with flour.
Step 1 for tofu prep: Flour Bowl
I find tofu so bland but the wonderful thing is that it picks up any flavours you add to it.
For the first step I prepared a flour bowl and mixed in:
- dried parsley flakes
- onion and garlic powder
- pepper
- salt
Put this aside and get the second bowl ready.
Step 2 for tofu prep: Milk bowl
Next up is the milk bowl which is simply:
- soy sauce
- milk
- sweet red chili sauce
- a bit of salt (you can omit it if you feel like there’s too much salt in this step)
Put aside and get ready for the third bowl
Step 3 for tofu prep: Bread crumb bowl
This is just Panko bread crumbs and Italian bread crumbs put together. One is for the crunch (Panko) and the other is for the flavouring (Italian).
Tofu time! Let’s dip!
You have three bowls/stations to work with.
Let’s take the first bowl and coat your tofu cutlet really well on all sides. Tap the tofu gently when down to get rid of any excess flour sticking to it.
Next we have the milk bowl which, when dipped, will seal the flavored flour to the tofu and also allow the bread crumbs to stick to it!
Finally, we will dip and coat the tofu in its final bowl! Panko and Italian bread crumbs!
What method do you cook the tofu in?
I used a frying pan and shallow fried my tofu in olive oil. You can also use an air fryer and bake it. If you decide to bake it I would do 25 minutes at 350F and flip half way. But it may need more time so just check on it to make sure it’s got a beautiful golden crisp!
Could you use an alternative method to cook your tofu?
I haven’t tried air frying it or baking it in the oven, but you could try both these methods and let me know how it turns out!
Can you make katsu curry gluten free?
Absolutely you can make it gluten free! Use tamari instead of soy sauce and Panko gluten free bread crumbs instead of the regular ones.
Putting it all together
Simply take your noodles and spread it in a deeper bowl/plate and generously pour some curry on top. I love the curry when it’s coating all the noodles. Place your tofu on top of your curry with noodles. Sprinkle garnishes like dried parsley or chopped chives.
What is katsu curry served with?
Noodles and vegetables are the best! You could replace the noodles with rice however!
Also a fun fact, it’s nice to eat fried food with cabbage as it helps with digestion!
Substitutions
Noodles
If you don’t wish to have noodles you can try:
- a salad such as a cabbage salad
- soup like miso soup
- pickled vegetables like onions or cabbage
- sushi rice instead of regular rice
- potstickers
- soba noodles or sweet potato vermicelli
- roasted vegetables like broccoli
Vegetables
I love using red peppers, onions, mushrooms and potatoes for this particular recipes. You can also use:
- celery
- green beans
- corn
- sweet potato
- broccoli
Can you make it with any noodles?
I prefer chow mein, ramen noodles or rice noodles. I like the thinner noodles with the hearty vegetables. You could also do this with udon noodles if you’re in the mood for a chunkier noodle!
How to store your delicious curry
I would try to eat it within 3 days and store it in the fridge in a seal proof container.
If not possible, I would fish out the potatoes (they don’t freeze too well) and freeze the curry. Defrost it by letting the curry come to room temperature.
Interested in more curry recipes? Try:
- Creamy and delicious cauliflower curry
- Rich and creamy Golden Milk Ramen Noodle Curry with Tofu
- Delicious Tarka Daal
Irresistible katsu curry with breaded tofu
Ingredients
First bowl – flour
- 2 Cup flour
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp parsley dried
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tbsp pepper
2nd bowl – milk bowl
- 2 Cup milk plant based
- 1 tbsp red chili sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp salt
3rd bowl – Bread crumbs
- 2 Cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 Cup Italian bread crumbs
Curry
- 2 tbsp sesame seed oil
- 3 small potatoes cut into small wedges
- 4 mushrooms sliced thickly
- 3 carrots cut into thick circles
- 1 Small onion diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tbsp garlic fresh or a paste
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp cilantro minced
- ½ vegetable bouillon
- 1 cube golden curry cube
- 2 Cup vegetable stock
- 1 Cup dried mushroom/algae water I soaked mushrooms & algae together. Sieve the water and discard the algae and mushrooms.
Instructions
Katsu Curry sauce
- In a deep frying pan on low medium heat, add your sesame seed oil
- Once warmed, add your onions and allow it to get golden brown
- All all the other ingredients, except the vegetables, and let it come to a boil
- This is an extra step but I like to use an immersion blender to blend the onions to make a smoother curry sauce
- Add the vegetables and let it come to a boil and then reduce it a simmer
- Allow it to cook for 25-30 minutes or until soft on the inside but still retains a level of crispness. It shouldn't just fall apart.
Noodle prep
- Prepare a pot, bring it to a boil and add your noodles. Cook until ready and leave aside after you've rinsed it with cold water.
Tofu Prep
- All your ingredients to the specific bowl to get ready to dip.
Dipping instructions
- Let's take the first bowl and coat your tofu cutlet really well on all sides. Tap the tofu gently when down to get rid of any excess flour sticking to it.
- Next we have the milk bowl which, when dipped, will seal the flavored flour to the tofu and also allow the bread crumbs to stick to it!
- Finally, we will dip and coat the tofu in its final bowl! Panko and Italian bread crumbs!
Putting it all together
- I used a frying pan and shallow fry your tofu in olive oil. Fry on both sides until golden brown which may take a few minutes
- Add to a deep plate, your noodles and pour the curry on top. Finally place your tofu on top of the noodles. Dig in!
Notes
- the tofu prep makes for two tofu cutlets and it may be a lot for just a single cutlet. You can half the recipe to reduce wasting
- I didn’t add additional salt to the curry as the golden cube had salt and flavour. Check for salt
- gluten free subs: tamari and gluten free Panko crumbs
- rather than discarding the algae and soaked dried mushrooms you could dice it up and throw it into the curry
- I don’t use the hot or medium golden curry tube, but rather a mild one. I believe it comes in three different varieties
- If you feel that the sauce is too thin, you can scoop two tablespoons into a small bowl and whisk 1 tbspn of corn starch until mixed through. Then throw it into the curry
Nutrition
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