Tofu Katsu Curry is a delicious dish, that uses simple ingredients and always looks fantastic.
The crunchy tofu, mixed with the spicy, creamy sauce and the fresh lemon rice is certainly enough to delight your palette.
Katsu Curry is probably one of my most ordered items from Japanese restaurants – comfort food meets taste expedition, meets increased happiness levels of the mouth. Although going out for good is always great, it's not great for your bank account. So, I have created an alternative which is substantially cheaper and equally as delicious.
In this recipe I bake the tofu for a healthier alternative, which provides more of a crispy texture. However, you may prefer to pan fry your tofu.
If you are like me and do not exude elegance, and you’re wondering how on earth I’ve managed to get the rice into small little pockets of joy, I have a simple hack for you.
I call this ‘the sandcastle method’. All you need is a cup measurer, and well – your freshly cooked rice. Pile the cup up with rice and quickly flip it upside down onto your plate, tap gently before removing the cup.
Ta-da! It is so simplistic, yet it gives that extra touch to polish off a meal.
Another aspect about this meal which tickles the mustsavemoney part of my brain, is the use of cornflour as an egg replacer. I have only tried and tested this method with tofu, but it works perfectly. As much as I find boxed egg replacers useful, if you are on a budget and would rather not spend unnecessary cash, cornflour is such a simple solution. In this recipe, I mix 50g of cornflour with 80ml of water until it has a medium consistency – not overly liquidly, but thick either. Before you put them in the oven, they should look a little like this:
Anyway,
Here's the recipe.
This recipe will yield 2 servings
Ingredients:
For the tofu:
75g plain flour
150g extra firm tofu
80g of panko breadcrumbs
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
50g cornflour
80ml water.
For the sauce:
1 large onion diced
2 medium carrots diced
4 garlic cloves
5-10g grated ginger
2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp light soy sauce
100ml vegetable stock
140 soy milk.
2 tbs of oil
1/3 tsp tsp turmeric
dash of black pepper
Optional sides:
rice of your choice (I used basmati, jasmine would work well)
salad of your choice
sesame seeds
Instructions:
1. To begin, heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Get your oven dish ready for later use and coat it in a small amount of oil.
2. Prep your tofu ready by pressing it to remove excess water.
3. Finely dice your onion, and then put the oil into your pan. Sauté your onion for two minutes. Finely chop your garlic and ginger and then add to the frying pan for another two minutes. Make sure to stir frequently to avoiding burning.
4. Add your finely sliced carrot and fry for another two minutes. Then, add your curry powder, garam masala and turmeric. Stir and fry for a minute. Begin to add in 100ml of vegetable stock – add in a small amount at a time and stir, rather than all at once. Add 150ml of soy milk following the same method.
5. Simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes, stir every so often. After the fifteen minutes (if your carrot has not softened, give it another five minutes) transfer your mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds, or until you have a completely blended sauce. Place your sauce back into the pan to heat up once the tofu has cooked. Here you can season the sauce with soy sauce – add extra milk if you find the sauce too spicy.
6. Have three wide bowls on hand, or something of the equivalent (Tupperware is sufficient). Add your flour into the first bowl and set aside. In another bowl add the panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and sesame seeds. In your third bowl, mix the corn-starch with the water – you want a medium consistency, too thick will make it difficult to dip the tofu.
Slice your tofu into individual pieces.
7. One by one, dip each piece of into tofu into the flour, then the corn-starch mixture, breadcrumbs. Make sure each piece is well covered. Once all pieces are coated, place them into a greased baking pan and bake for around twenty minutes – making sure to flip them after ten minutes. Leave in longer if you prefer a crispier finish.
8. While the tofu is cooking, cook your rice – making sure to wash it beforehand. Bring 2 cups of water to boil before adding 1 cup of rice. Add 1/3 tsp of lemon juice to the rice if desired. Put a lid on top of the rice and simmer for around 8-10 minutes until the rice has cooked.
9. Place your desired amount of rice onto your place, with the tofu and then pour over the sauce. Add side salad and sesame seeds for optional extras.