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Air Fryer Chicken Katsu

Hello! Happy Monday, friends. Back in November Alex bought an air fryer and I knew the first thing I wanted to air fry was Chicken Katsu. Before the Pandemic, my favorite thing to order at our local hibachi restaurant was their Chicken Katsu appetizer. Needless to say, I had been missing that dish! So we broke in the Cosori Air Fryer with this classic Japanese appetizer. As an air fryer skeptic, I was expecting this to not work out as well I wanted it to, but it worked out great!

Air Fryer Chicken Katsu Meal

I am sure there are some things that will, and should, always go in the hot oil for deep frying. Like Tempura…I am not sure how that would work in an Air Fryer. I will have to experiment with that one. But, this was so easy, so quick, and the clean up was a snap. I got some short grain rice going in my Instant Pot before I started the chicken. If you want to have rice with your Chicken Katsu, get that going before you begin frying.

The Set Up

Chicken Katsu prep

Set up your dredging station with one shallow bowl of 3 beaten eggs and another shallow bowl with the panko. I sliced two breasts in half horizontally to get four thin breast pieces, instead of pounding whole chicken breasts. Pat them dry and season with Kosher salt and pepper on both sides. I like to place the breaded chicken pieces on a wire rack in a sheet tray.

dredging chicken

I did two rounds of dredging for each chicken piece. If you want t a thinner crust, you can just do one pass in the egg and then one pass in the panko. Take one seasoned chicken breast at a time and coat it in the beaten egg, then dredge it in the panko, making sure to evenly coat the whole piece in panko. Then go back for one more coating of egg and another dredge in the panko.

uncooked cutlets

Air Fryer Chicken Katsu!

Preheat the Air Fryer to 350 degrees. I can only fit two breasts at a time in my Air Fryer, so I worked in two batches. Lay two breaded chicken pieces in the Air Fryer basket, spray a light coating of cooking oil on the breasts and place the basket in the fryer. Set the timer for 10 minutes and begin frying!

When the fryer times out, pull the basket and use a spatula to flip the breasts, spray the flipped breast with a light coating of cooking spray and replace basket. Set the timer for 8 minutes.

Air Fried Chicken Cutlets

Repeat the process for the remaining breast pieces. I quickly steamed some broccolini to go alongside, and I made some Katsu sauce for drizzling and dipping.

Air Fried Chicken Katsu

The crust was crispy and crunchy. The chicken was juicy and perfectly cooked. Success! So far so good with the Air Fryer. The model I have is a 5.8 quart Cosori. It’s easy to use and clean. Like I mentioned at the top, I was skeptical; I wasn’t sure I needed or wanted an air fryer. But I have to say, I am really happy with this piece of kitchen equipment. It makes the idea of frying much less daunting.

Air Fryer Chicken Katsu

While this wasn’t exactly like the Chicken Katsu at my local hibachi place, it was very close and the katsu sauce really hits it home. Thank you all for stopping by today! If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing an air fryer, I say go for it! There are many models under $100 on Amazon, and I think it’s really worth it! Want to try another one of my favorite Japanese dishes, try my Leftover Turkey Ramen – sub in whatever leftover meat and veggies you have! Stop by facebook, Instagram or Pinterest to say hello! See you all here again Wednesday, take care and be well everyone. xo Kelly

Air Fryer Chicken Katsu

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Dinner, Main Course Japanese
By Kelly Djalali Serves: 2-4
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 36 Minutes Total Time: 50 Minutes

Air Fried Chicken Katsu is tender and juicy on the inside and crispy crunchy on the outside. Whip up some Katsu sauce and serve over rice.

Ingredients

  • 2 Chicken Breasts, sliced in half horizontally
  • Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 3 Eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
  • Cooking Spray
  • Katsu Sauce (makes 3 tablespoons of sauce)
  • 1 tbsp. Ketchup
  • 2.5 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1.5 tsp. Oyster Sauce
  • 1 tsp. Granulated Sugar

Instructions

1

Slice Chicken Breasts in half horizontally and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle both sides with Kosher salt and pepper. Set aside.

2

Beat 3 eggs in a shallow bowl and prepare another shallow bowl with the Panko.

3

One breast at a time, dip and coat in egg, then dredge in Panko.

4

For a thick crust, repeat dipping in egg and dredging in Panko once more. Set breaded chicken on a wire rack set in a sheet tray.

5

Repeat process for remaining chicken pieces.

6

Preheat Air Fryer to 350 degrees.

7

Place 2 chicken breasts in air fryer basket and spray with cooking spray. Set air fryer timer for 10 minutes.

8

Flip chicken breasts and spray with cooking spray and set timer for 8 minutes.

9

Repeat with the 2 remaining chicken breasts.

Katsu Sauce

10

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until sugar is dissolved.

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  • Sylvia Espinoza
    January 4, 2021 at 11:08 am

    Hi, Kelly! We too have a new air fryer on which I’m still navigating the ropes. Today am encouraged to go forth with mine! Don’t think I’ll ever tire of what you offer us next. The Cioppino yesterday? Wow. The history and stories you provide with the dishes bring their places of origin right into our kitchens. I joke that if I can’t personally visit places I’d love to, the ability to create dishes from those locales works for me! Thanks again for making it possible. Hugs~

    • Kelly Djalali
      January 4, 2021 at 11:24 am

      Hi Sylvia, I couldn’t agree more! I have been so spoiled living in great food cities, like San Francisco. And Pandemic or not, it’s hard sometimes to be away from so many of the great dishes I loved. But what an adventure to try and recreate them at home! I mostly miss the Asian dishes. And the Mexican food in California is fantastic. So we do what we can! Try this katsu in your air fryer, I am sure you will enjoy it! Thanks so much and let me know how it works out for you. xo Kelly

  • Susan Goins
    January 4, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    This looks amazing. I have thought about getting an air fryer but I don’t have a lot of counter space or a cabinet to store it in. Thanks for sharing your delish recipes.???

    • Kelly Djalali
      January 4, 2021 at 5:45 pm

      Hi Susan, Yes I have to keep mine in the garage ?. But it’s not too big or heavy, so it’s easy to move around. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and thanks so much for writing in! Take care, xo Kelly

  • Judy Rogers
    January 8, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Hi Kelly
    Greetings from Australia. Really enjoying the recipes you are presenting. I still work 3 days a week so my husband like to cook. He made this for us the other night and it was delicious and so easy. Great to be able to recreate our favourite restaurant meals at home. Ready to try many more.
    With thanks from Judy Rogers

    • Kelly Djalali
      January 8, 2021 at 6:22 pm

      Well, hello Judy! So nice to hear from you, all the way from Australia! I am so happy to know that you and your husband enjoyed the chicken katsu. How great that your husband likes to cook! Thank you so much for writing in. Have a wonderful weekend! xo Kelly

  • Terry
    January 13, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    Just made this, it was excellent the only change we did cauliflower rice and we also made the broccoli. The sauce was delicious ❤️Mom

    • Kelly Djalali
      January 13, 2021 at 10:10 pm

      Wonderful, Mom! Cauliflower rice is the perfect change. And yes, isn’t that katsu sauce delicious! xo Kelly