Chicken Katsu Sando Recipe

Makes 4 sandwiches
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

for the chicken katsu:
9 ounces|250 grams chicken thigh meat, skin on
¼ white onion, finely chopped, rinsed, and squeezed
2 cups fresh panko breadcrumbs
1 ¼ teaspoon|3 grams kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

for the b&s sauce:
1 cup|500 grams Bull-Dog sauce
3 tablespoons|50 grams Sriracha hot chili sauce

for the sandwich:
4 ½ ounces|130 grams white cabbage, thinly sliced, washed and dried
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Kewpie mayo
B+S sauce
1 lemon, cut into wedges
vegetable oil, for frying
1 loaf thick-cut milk (white sandwich) bread, sliced into 1-inch thick pieces

1. Prepare the chicken katsu: Chill the chicken thigh meat and the elements of your meat grinder in the freezer for 20 minutes. Once chilled, pass the chicken thigh meat through the grinder twice, then put in a bowl. Add the onion, ½ cup breadcrumbs, and salt to the ground chicken, then mix together. Form the mixture into four patties, place on a tray and then chill in the refrigerator.
2. Make the B&S sauce: Combine the Bull-Dog Sauce and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. Reserve in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Make the sandwich: In a mixing bowl, lightly salt the cabbage, then leave to sit for 2 minutes before squeezing out as much water as you can. Add the Kewpie mayo and mix.
4. Bread the patties: Place the flour, eggs, and remaining breadcrumbs in 3 separate bowls. Working with 1 patty at a time, dip the chicken katsu in the flour, coating it completely, then dredge it in the eggs, then the breadcrumbs. Lightly press a dimple in the middle of the patty to help it cook evenly and place it on a tray. Repeat with remaining chicken katsu patties.

6. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer or deep saucepan to 340°F. Using a slotted spoon or ladle, carefully lower the chicken katsu patties into the hot oil. Deep fry until a deep golden brown, about 6 minutes.
7. While the patties are cooking, place the bread in a toaster oven or salamander (overhead grill.) Warm only one side of the bread – this will become the inside of the sandwich.
8. Remove the chicken patties with a slotted spoon and drain paper towel-lined tray. Roll in the B+S sauce until glossy and coated all over.
9. Evenly spread the cabbage mixture on the toasted side of the bottom slice of bread. Place the sauced chicken katsu patty on top of the bread. Top with the second slice of bread, toasted-side down. Very lightly compress the sandwich, flipping it over twice so that it’s evenly pressed.
10. Neatly cut the crusts from the slices of bread, then cut the sandwich so that the cut-side faces upwards to show the cross-section and filling; insert a bamboo skewer through the middle of the sandwich to hold it together.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This recipe has been reprinted with permission of the author from Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong.

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