Oven Baked Chicken Katsu Sando
Thousands of office workers headed back to their desks after the summer. With the time the passed since, perhaps it’s time to level up your sandwich game. Why go back to a standard ham and cheese when you can tuck into a super crunchy and tasty katsu sando on your lunchbreak? The sandwich is having a moment in London right now, with the Katsu Sando popping up regularly on Instagram feeds. There’s something about that combination of fluffy white milk bread (aka Shoku-pan) and crunchy meat cutlets that really gets your mouth watering. Despite the Katsu Sando’s appearance on high-class menus across the city, this sandwich couldn’t be humbler in Japan. You’re more likely to find it at the local convenience store or train station. I’ve put my twist on this popular sandwich to create an oven baked chicken katsu sando with a sesame miso sauce.
Anatomy of a Katsu Sando
A basic katsu sando contains the following elements: fluffy white bread, breaded meat cutlet, tonkatsu sauce and shredded cabbage. The textural difference between the soft bread and the crunchy cutlet is essential, so this isn’t a sandwich that you can go swapping for chewy sourdough or rye bread. You MUST embrace the fluffy white stuff, something like a brioche or even a thick cut slice of regular sandwich bread would work really well. I’m recently eating a gluten free diet, so am trying this out with some amazing GF bread ordered from The Gluten Free Bakery via Farmdrop .
I’ve chosen chicken for my recipe, but you can use any kind of tender meat cutlet. I enjoy pork fillet but you can also use boneless chops, for a vegetarian version firm tofu or aubergine would work really nicely. I bake the chicken, instead of frying, meaning this can be enjoyed a little more often as it’s a healthier way of cooking the katsu cutlets.
Traditionally a katsu sando contains tonkatsu sauce, this popular Japanese condiment is found in every kitchen across Japan and could be compared in popularity to ketchup. In fact, I suppose you could say the katsu sando is a bit like the hamburger of Japan. Tonkatsu sauce is sweet, spicy, and tangy and contains flavours similar to Worcestershire sauce or Brown sauce. We always serve this sauce when we eat breaded katsu culets, as a main dish alongside rice and vegetables for example. This is not to be confused with katsu curry sauce, as this is a different sauce altogether – although just as tasty! For this recipe, I’m using my take on a Tonkatsu sauce, which is homemade from scratch and with none of the nasties of shop bought.
Finally shredded cabbage adds another important layer of crunch and also helps digestion. Katsu is ALWAYS served with shredded cabbage in Japan so it’s an essential element!
History of the Katsu Sando
This favourite sandwich can be traced back to the Meiji Restoration. During this time, the Japanese emperor was encouraging western culture into Japan following the end of the Edo period – a time where Japan had closed it borders to all outside influence. Out of the Meiji period a new style of food was born – Yoshoku. Think Japanese food but with a western twist, this innovative cuisine led to the invention of some rather wacky dishes such as Naporitan (spaghetti with ketchup and sausages) and Omurice (an omlette stuffed with fried rice). Some dishes however have become staples of Japanese street food and are now, in turn, much loved by westerners such as katsu curry and our beloved katsu sando of course. You’re not likely to see a naporitan on the menu in many London restaurants however!
Japanese bread – Shoku pan
I mentioned earlier that bread is important in a katsu sando. In Japan we have a special kind of loaf called Shoku Pan, you may have heard this referred to as Japanese Milk Bread. Shoku Pan is made from a dough enriched with butter, milk and sugar giving it a fluffy cotton candy texture and a sweet, rich flavour. In my recipe I have chosen a GF brioche as a substitute for its sweet, fluffy crumb structure. The contrast of the sweet bread with the tangy sauce and savoury meat is one of the reasons a katsu sando is SO delicious. If you’re looking for a place to buy shoku pan then try Happy Sky Bakery, a traditional Japanese bakery in West London. GF Brioche alternatives are available from Ocado When I have a slice or two left over, I blend them to make GF panko breadcrumbs. So easy!
Oven Baked Chicken Katsu Sando
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 egg - beaten
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- Plain flour for dusting chicken
- 100g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 3 tbs sunflower oil
- 4 slices soft white bread or 2 brioche buns
- 4 tbsp red miso/dark miso
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp grated white sesame seeds
- Japanese mustard ‘Karashi’ / english mustard
- Mayonnaise
- Small handful of shredded cabbage
Method
- To make the chicken katsu heat the oil in the pan and then spread the panko breadcrumbs around the pan, coating them in oil. Fry the crumbs until they are a light brown colour. This allows us to colour the crumbs first without the need for deep frying. Pour the crumbs onto a large plate to cool.
- Next, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put the beaten egg into a dish and the panko breadcrumbs in another. Dust the chicken with flour and then dunk the chicken in the beaten egg and then in the panko.
- Leave them for 5 minutes to rest. Put the chicken on a baking tray and then place on the top shelf of your oven at 200c for 20 minutes until they become a rich golden-brown colour.
- To make the sauce, put all the sauce ingredients except the sesame seeds in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat and then add the grated sesame seeds and leave it to cool down.
- To make the sandwich, Place two slices of bread on a plate and spread the mayonnaise and mustard thinly on top. Put the chicken katsu on one of the slices, then drizzle across with the sauce. Put the shredded cabbage on the top of katsu and drizzle the sauce once more.
- Then put the other slice on top to finish. Apply a little pressure to make the sandwich stick together.
- Cut the sandwich in half ready to eat or pop it into your lunchbox for later.
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