I can't think of a more popular Japanese food at the moment than curry. The thing with a Japanese curry is that you have to "get it" - Indian curry this is not - Japanese curries rarely get very hot and they are always fruity and sweet. Maybe that is the secret of their success? Kids love them, people who don't like excessively hot Indian curries (like me) love them and cooks who love the convenience of Japanese curry cubes love them too!
Not far behind curry in the Japanese food popularity stakes must be katsu - those deep fried panko breadcrumb packets of goodness. I'm always keen to point out that katsu doesn't have to mean meat. This recipe uses tofu as a healthy and ethical alternative to meat. (Oh, I forgot to mention it's a lot cheaper too!) In fact, I'd go as far as to say that tofu is the ideal kind of katsu. Why? Well, think about it a while..first, tofu is low fat and low calorie so you don't get the same angst about deep frying and piling on more calories. Second, tofu has very little flavour so deep frying in panko imparts flavour and third, tofu is soft and crumbly so the deep fried panko add a lovely crunchy texture - crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.
So, this Tofu Katsu Curry recipe combines all of the above - it's healthy, it's cheap and it's pretty quick too! - the curry takes about 15 mins to put together and while it is gently cooking, you can get your tofu katsu coated and fried in another 10 mins. So, in under half an hour, you'll have a dinner on the table that everyone will love. (Just don't forget the rice!) Really, this is so good, there's a danger that it could become the only curry you ever want to eat!
Interested? If you want to put a Tofu Katsu Curry into your kitchen repertoire, you can find the youtube tutorial by clicking Tofu Katsu Curry or scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is below.
(btw: I used Golden brand "hot" curry cubes for this recipe but other curry cube brands work equally well. As for the tofu, I used Morinaga brand firm tofu but again any firm tofu will work)
Tofu Katsu Curry
ingredients: (makes 2 servings)
tofu katsu:
1 packet of firm tofu, (approx. 350g)
40g plain flour
80ml water
70g panko breadcrumbs
veg oil for deep frying
curry:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
6 baby corn
80g green beans
300ml water
2 pieces Golden brand hot curry cubes
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 servings cooked rice
how to:
to make your curry sauce:
drain the excess water from the tofu on kitchen paper for 10 mins,
meanwhile, make your curry sauce:
slice the onion and mince the garlic and halve the baby corn diagonally. trim the green beans & cut in half
heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic & onion and fry for 1 min
next add the baby corn & green beans and fry for 1 min more
add the water, curry cubes, soy sauce & ketchup, bring to the boil & simmer for 10 mins while stirring
to make your tofu katsu:
remove your tofu from the kitchen paper and cut into 12 equal pieces
mix the plain flour with the water in a bowl
dip the tofu pieces into the flour mixture, then coat in the panko breadcrumbs and make 12 tofu katsu
fill a pan with 1-2 cm of vegetable oil, heat to 170’C,
fry the tofu katsu until light golden brown, turning partway through frying
drain on kitchen paper
serve with the rice, ladling the curry over the tofu katsu
happy cooking! kurumi XXXX.
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