Chicken katsu sandwich

Picture the glory of the perfect schnitzel sanga, but with chicken coated in panko crumbs for extra crunch, a slathering of Japanese mayo for extra creaminess, and a smear of Tonkatsu sauce for extra richness.

Chicken katsu sandwich Credit: Justine's Flavours of Fuji

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, halved horizontally
• 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup plain flour
• 80 g panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted, plus extra to serve
• vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
• 16 thick slices fresh white bread, crusts removed

To serve

• softened butter
• tonkatsu sauce
• Japanese mayonnaise
• cucumber ribbons
• green cabbage, shredded

Instructions

1. Place the chicken pieces between 2 sheets of baking paper and beat with a meat mallet to ½ cm thickness.
2. Place the eggs in a shallow bowl and the flour in a separate shallow bowl. Season flour. Combine panko crumbs and sesame seeds on a plate and season.
3. Dip each piece of chicken in flour to coat, then egg, then crumb mixture, pressing gently to ensure crumbs stick.
4. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 2 cm depth of oil over medium-high heat, then fry chicken, in batches, turning once, for 1 to 2 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towel.
5. Cut chicken pieces in halves. Spread bread with butter and tonkatsu sauce. Top with chicken, cucumber, cabbage, spread another slice of bread with a little mayonnaise, season, sandwich together and cut into pieces.
6. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve sprinkled with extra sesame seeds.

 

Justine's Flavours of Fuji premieres on Monday 19 November at 8.30pm. The series airs Mondays at 8.30pm on SBS Food (Channel 33). After they air, episodes will stream at SBS On Demand. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.