Make your own…Wagamama edition
Get your Wagamama fix!
Whilst there is no shortage of delicious places to dine out in St Andrews, after a few weeks of being confined in the Bubble, it can start to feel small. We begin to not only miss our family and friends from back home, but also staple chain restaurants that we do not have access to.
So, if you’ve ever had a hankering for an Itsu salad or a classic Chipotle burrito but found yourselves settling for another boring plate of pasta, check back to our weekly instalments of easy recipes to recreate your restaurant favourites in the relative comfort (or gross confinement) of your kitchen.
This week we recreated Wagamama’s famous Katsu curry by using this recipe from allrecipes.co.uk as a starting poin (and editing it using our own extensive experience) to come up with what we believe to be a pretty close (and not to mention much cheaper) version, complete with vegetarian and gluten free alternatives!
Ingredients
For the curry sauce:
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 onions, sliced
5 garlic cloves, chopped (note CLOVES not bulbs. We almost made that mistake…)
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons plain flour
3 table spoons curry powder
600ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon garam masala
For the breaded chicken
4 chicken breast fillets, pounded to 1cm thickness
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 egg, beaten
100g fine breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs
230ml vegetable oil for frying
For the curry sauce:
- Heat the oil in medium non-stick saucepan, add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
- Stir in the carrots and cook over low heat for until also slightly softened. This should take about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add the flour and curry powder; cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the stock until fully combined;
- Then add honey, soy sauce and the bay leaves. Slowly bring to the boil.
- Turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes or so until sauce thickens to a pouring consistency.
- Stir in the garam masala.
- If you have a blender of some sort, blitz the sauce until smooth to incorporate all the vegetables and flavours. If not, cook the sauce down further until it is at the desired consistency and pour the curry sauce through a sieve; return to saucepan and keep on low heat until ready to serve.
For the chicken:
- Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place flour, egg and breadcrumbs in separate bowls and arrange in a row. Coat the chicken breasts in flour, then dip them into the egg, then coat in breadcrumbs, making sure you cover both sides.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken into hot oil and cook until golden brown, for about 3 or 4 minutes each side. Once cooked, place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
Pour curry sauce over the chicken, serve with rice and enjoy! Or for the authentic Wagamama experience, grease an appropriately shaped vessel, press your rice into it and turn out for a perfect mound of rice, then serve with salad.
For a vegetarian alternative:
Replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock in the sauce. And instead of chicken, imitate Wagamama’s Yasai Katsu Curry by breading and pan-frying your own combination of butternut squash, sweet potato and aubergine, boiling slightly first to soften, then cooking using the same instructions as the chicken.
For a gluten-free alternative:
Replace the plain flour for any other mild tasting gluten-free flour such as Dove’s Farm or simple corn flour. For the chicken or vegetables, you could try finding a gluten free breadcrumb, or simply grill for healthier, gluten free alternative.
Although the recipe might seem daunting, it is nothing more than throwing ingredients into a pan and well worth the wait for everything to come together. One bite will take you back to Wags’ awkward communal tables and unflattering lighting.
Our gluten free Chicken Katsu Curry
Our very own Yasai Katsu Curry
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