Don't Pay for Wagamamas, Make Your Own Katsu Curry

I love going out for dinner. It's a great opportunity to catch up with friends, enjoy some good food and chill out. However I don't appreciate the price tag that comes with it so here is a cheaper (and healthier) alternative by Gizzi Erskine to one of my favourite meals from Wagamamas.

Chicken Katsu Curry

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil (Tip: I was able to get peanut oil from Lidl for £1.19 but before I could find any I used to use vegetable oil and stir a teaspoon of peanut butter into the sauce)
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp medium curry powder
• 600ml chicken stock (Tip: Fresh stock is best but OXO cubes are the best dried variety in my opinion, they can be found much cheaper in Poundland and Lidl compared to other supermarkets)
• 2 tsp honey (Tip: If you don't have honey, 1tsp of (preferably dark brown) sugar works just as well)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp garam masala (Tip: Sounds fancy and hard to come by but can be found in Sainsburys with the other herbs and spices for £1)
• Salt and pepper
• 4 x 100g chicken breasts
• 100g flour, seasoned with lots of salt and pepper
• 1 free-range egg, beaten lightly (Tip: Cheap free-range eggs can be found in Co-op in their essential range)
• 120g breadcrumbs


• Rice or salad to serve

Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then throw in the carrot pieces and  cook slowly for 10 minutes, with the lid on, giving the odd stir occasionally. You want to sweat the vegetables until softened and starting to caramelise.
   


2. Stir in 2tbsp of flour and 1tbsp of curry powder and cook them for a minute. Slowly pour in the chicken stock bit by bit until combined (do it slowly to avoid getting lumps). Add the honey, soy and bay leaf then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes. The sauce will have thickened and taken on all of the flavours, although you still need it to have a pouring consistency. Add the garam masala, salt and pepper, then pass the sauce through a sieve. (if you like a chunky sauce so feel free not to strain it, I have chosen to keep it chunky)


3. While the sauce is cooking, get on with the chicken. Lay the seasoned flour, egg and breadcrumbs on to separate plates. Coat the chicken breasts into the flour, then the egg and finally cover with the breadcrumbs.

   

   












4. Spritz with oil then put in the hot oven for 12-15 minutes. Slice the chicken diagonally then serve with Japanese steamed rice and salad.

Enjoy!

Wagamamas Cost (per person): £10.00
C-I-Y Cost (per person): <£5.00*

Tweet

*Price may vary, I only needed to buy chicken, carrots and garam masala as I already had the other ingredients in my larder. Try to build up a larder of useful items such as those listed above.