Katsu Curry

Serves 4

If I’m going for Japanese, and not eating sushi, then it is very likely I’ll opt for a katsu curry. Referring to the breaded and fried meat or tofu, katsu is served with a fruity curry sauce and a sticky rice.

At home I’ve been researching recipes for the curry sauce as I had already decided that I wanted to have a go at making a lower calorie katsu by cheating on the frying element (by just using frylight and a non-stick pan). I knew I wanted to use apples in my recipe and I also wanted to make sure that it could be both vegan and gluten-free if required. I succeeded in adapting the recipes to make this version which I was really pleased with.

It is really quick to make (it only took about 20 minutes) and I made it earlier in the day so I only had to reheat it in the evening whilst I was frying my tofu. I have included a description of how I created the katsu element at the end of this recipe, and whilst this is not gluten-free/vegan, it could be adapted by using gluten-free flour, aquafaba (the thick water found in a tin of chickpeas that is often used as a vegan egg-replacement) and gluten-free bread crumbs if necessary.

• Ingredients:
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and roughly diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour, slackened in a little cold water
• 2 heaped tsp of curry powder (I used medium strength)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 350ml hot vegetable stock (gluten-free if required)
• A drop of sesame oil
• Salt and pepper

Step 1: Melt the coconut oil on a medium heat in a frying pan and add the onion, carrot and apple. Put a lid on the pan and cook for eight to 10 minutes until they are softened (you may need to stir or shake the contents a couple of times).

Step 2: Whilst this is softening add the sugar, soy sauce and tomato purée to the slackened cornflour and stir. Set to one side.

Step 3: Remove the lid and add the garlic and cook for a minute, followed by the two spices, stirring for 30 seconds.

Step 4: Add the vegetable stock and stir followed by the cornflour mix and stir. Add a tiny drop of sesame oil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for four or five minutes.

Step 5: Blend the mixture to a thick purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I served this with a low calorie, low fat version of tofu katsu, but there is no reason why you couldn’t follow the same method with chicken or pork.

I used a firm tofu and cut slices 1cm-1 1/2 cm thick, pressed them on kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture and then panéd them by first dusting them in seasoned flour, dipping them in beaten egg (if you wanted to make this strictly vegan then replace the egg with aquafaba) and then coating on a mix of panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds. I fried them in a non-stick pan with just a spray of fry-light, cooking them on a medium heat for three-four minutes on each side. I served two of these slices with some sticky sushi rice and a small salad on the side.