Chicken Katsu w/ Tomato Egg Recipe (with Video)

Make the tomato egg sauce
1. Slice the tomatoes into wedges, and remove the stems. Slice the scallions (keep the whites and green parts separate) and ginger.
2. Heat up a pan on medium heat, and add 1-2 tbsp of oil. Once it’s warm, add the ginger and scallion whites. Stir fry for 1-2 min or until fragrant.
3. Add the sliced tomatoes, salt, Shaoxing wine, and brown sugar. Mix and continue cooking until tomatoes have completely softened — this should take at least 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the oyster sauce and ketchup. Mix well.
5. Mix the cornstarch slurry, add a little to the pan, and stir. Add more slurry if you want the sauce thicker, and add more water if you want the sauce thinner.
6. Drizzle a beaten egg over the tomato sauce. To get the beautiful egg ribbons, let it set for 30 seconds before gently mixing with your spatula.
7. Finish with sesame oil and scallion (greens). Turn off the heat and set aside.
Prepare the chicken thighs
1. Place chicken thighs onto a clean cutting board, and wrap a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound them with a heavy-bottomed pan to create even and flat pieces, but make sure to not get them too thin!
2. Season with salt, garlic powder, and black pepper on both sides.
3. In a bowl, mix all the batter ingredients together until there are no lumps. Pour Panko bread crumbs onto a separate large bowl or plate.
4. Heat up a pan on medium or medium high heat, and add about 1/2 inch of oil to shallow-fry the chicken. You can also choose to deep-fry the chicken by using more oil (enough to submerge the entire chicken thigh.
5. Coat each chicken thigh thoroughly in the batter, and drip off any excess. Place into the Panko bread crumbs, and lightly press the crumbs into the chicken on all sides.
Shallow fry the chicken
1. The oil is ready when it’s 350F. You can also test it with a sprinkle of Panko — they should sizzle but not brown immediately, otherwise it’s too hot!
2. Carefully place the breaded chicken thighs into the oil and cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. After flipping, I also like to use a spoon to baste the top of the chicken (the side that’s not touching the oil) to get a more even, golden brown color.
3. Remove onto a wire rack to rest. After a few minutes, slice and enjoy with the tomato egg sauce and rice!