Chicken Katsu Curry Udon

Three things in one bowl: crispy panko chicken, thick chewy udon noodles, and a Japanese curry broth that clings to everything. That’s it. That’s the whole pitch — and it’s enough. I’ve been making versions of this for years and it still gets eaten faster than anything else I put on the table.

Chicken Katsu Curry Udon isn’t an ancient recipe with a long history. It’s a practical combination — Japanese curry rice and udon noodle soup meeting in the middle. Restaurants across Japan have been doing this for decades, and it makes complete sense once you eat it. The crunch of the katsu against those thick, slippery noodles, the golden broth pooling underneath — everything works together. I tested it across four different curry roux brands and three types of udon noodles before settling on the version below. Here’s what I learned.

Why Each Part of This Recipe Matters

This dish has three moving parts. Get each one right and the bowl is excellent. Rush any of them and you’ll notice.

The katsu: The whole point is the crust. Panko breadcrumbs are non-negotiable — regular breadcrumbs go dense and heavy where panko stays airy and shatters when you bite through it. Oil temperature matters just as much. I run it at 170°C (340°F). Too high and the outside burns before the inside cooks. Too low and the panko soaks up oil and turns greasy instead of crispy. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a small pinch of panko in — it should sizzle immediately, rise to the surface, and turn golden within about 30 seconds. That’s your target. The technique is the same one I use for my Japanese Karaage — hot oil, don’t crowd the pan, drain on a rack not paper towels. If you’ve made that recipe before, the frying method here will feel familiar.

The curry broth: The thing that separates a good curry udon broth from just thinned-out curry sauce is dashi. Udon soups in Japan are built on dashi — a light, savoury stock made from kombu and bonito flakes. When you dissolve curry roux into dashi instead of plain water, you get broth that’s rich but not heavy. The cornstarch slurry at the end thickens it just enough that it coats each noodle rather than sliding to the bottom of the bowl. Don’t skip it.

The noodles: Frozen udon. Not dried, not the vacuum-packed pouches if you can avoid them — frozen. Frozen Sanuki-style udon has the thick, springy chew the Japanese call koshi, and it holds up properly in hot broth without going soft. Pour boiling water over the frozen noodles to separate and thaw them, drain, and get them in the bowl quickly. Noodle texture is something I feel strongly about — I wrote about it in detail when I developed my Korean Glass Noodles (Japchae) recipe, where getting the chew right makes or breaks the whole dish. Same principle applies here.

What You Need — And What to Know Before You Buy

Most of this is accessible at any Asian grocery store, and a lot of it is shelf-stable, so it’s worth buying properly rather than grabbing substitutes.

Japanese curry roux cubes — this is the one ingredient you might not already have. I use S&B Golden Curry on medium heat, which gives a warm, slightly sweet, deeply savoury broth without being aggressively spicy. House Vermont Curry is milder and slightly sweeter — good if you’re cooking for kids or people who don’t do heat well. Both come in boxes and keep for months in the pantry. Just One Cookbook has a thorough breakdown of the differences between brands if you want to go deeper.

Dashi — Hondashi instant dashi powder dissolved in hot water is absolutely fine here. I use it on weeknights without apology. If you want to make dashi from scratch — kombu steeped in cold water, then bonito flakes steeped at just below a simmer — Japanese Cooking 101 has a clear guide and the flavour difference is genuinely worth it when you have time.

Panko breadcrumbs — most supermarkets carry these now. Don’t swap them for regular breadcrumbs. I’ve tried it. The crust goes dense and dull and you lose the whole point of katsu.

Ingredients

For the Chicken Katsu

• 4 boneless chicken thighs (or breasts) — approx. 600g / 1.3 lb total
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 60g (½ cup) plain flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 120g (about 2 cups) panko breadcrumbs
• Neutral oil for frying (vegetable, sunflower, or canola)

For the Curry Broth

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 800ml (3⅓ cups) dashi stock — Hondashi instant dashi powder is fine
• 3–4 Japanese curry roux cubes — S&B Golden Curry or House Vermont Curry, medium heat
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium works well)
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoons cold water (slurry)

For the Noodles & Serving

• 4 portions frozen or pre-cooked udon noodles
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven-spice), to serve — optional
• Pickled ginger, to serve — optional
• Fukujinzuke pickles, to serve — optional

Instructions

1. Prep the chicken. If using breasts, butterfly them to an even thickness of about 1.5cm. Thighs can go in as-is if they’re roughly even. Pat dry with paper towels — this helps the flour adhere and the crust stay crispy. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.

2. Set up your crumbing station. Three shallow dishes in order: plain flour, beaten egg, panko. Coat each piece of chicken in flour (shake off excess), dip in egg, then press firmly into the panko. Make sure the panko is packed on evenly — any bare patches will turn dark before the rest is done.

3. Fry the katsu. Heat about 4–5cm (1.5 inches) of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to 170°C / 340°F. Fry the chicken for 5–6 minutes per side until the crust is a deep golden amber and the internal temperature reaches 75°C / 165°F. Don’t crowd the pan — fry in batches if needed. Drain on a wire rack (not paper towels, which make the bottom steamy). Rest for 2 minutes, then slice into thick strips.

4. Build the curry broth. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for 5–6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in the dashi stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Break in the curry roux cubes and stir until completely dissolved. Add the soy sauce and mirin. Taste — add more roux if you want deeper flavour, or a splash more dashi if it’s too thick.

5. Thicken the broth. Whisk the cornstarch and cold water together until smooth. Pour into the simmering broth while stirring continuously. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the broth turns glossy and coats a spoon. This is what makes it cling to the noodles rather than slide off.

6. Prepare the udon. Pour boiling water over frozen noodles to separate them and heat through (about 1–2 minutes). Drain well and divide between four deep bowls.

7. Assemble. Ladle the hot curry broth over the udon noodles. Arrange the sliced chicken katsu on top. Scatter spring onions over everything. Serve immediately with shichimi togarashi on the side if you like a bit of heat.

What I’ve Learned Making This

💡 The one thing most people get wrong: Draining the katsu on paper towels. Paper traps steam on the underside and the crust goes soft in about 60 seconds. Use a wire rack. The air circulates, the bottom stays crispy, and you have time to finish the broth before it matters. I ruined enough batches learning this the hard way so you don’t have to.

Chicken thighs vs. breasts: I use thighs. They’re more forgiving — the fat content means they stay juicy even if your oil runs a bit hot or the cooking time goes slightly long. Breasts work, but they’re leaner and dry out fast. If you use breasts, butterfly them first to even out the thickness, and pull them the moment your thermometer reads 75°C / 165°F. Don’t walk away.

Air fryer option: It works. Spray the crumbed chicken generously with neutral oil — more than you think — and air fry at 200°C / 390°F for 12–14 minutes, flipping once halfway. The crust won’t shatter quite the same way as deep-fried, but it’s genuinely good and considerably less mess. Same approach I use when I’m making my Karaage on a weeknight when I don’t want a pot of hot oil on the stove.

Gluten-free: Use GF panko and swap soy sauce for tamari. For the roux — S&B’s loose curry powder is GF, but the block roux contains wheat. You can make a quick GF curry broth using the powder directly with dashi, a little cornstarch, and a splash of mirin. It won’t be identical, but it’s close.

Make-ahead: The curry broth is actually better the next day — the flavour deepens overnight. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It’ll thicken as it sits; just add a splash of water or dashi when you reheat it. Fry the katsu fresh on the day you’re serving. Cook the noodles last, right before the bowl goes to the table — they go soft quickly in hot broth.

Leftover katsu: Reheat in an oven or air fryer at 180°C / 355°F for 5–6 minutes. Microwaving kills the crust entirely.

If the chewy noodle element is what’s drawing you in, my Korean Glass Noodles (Japchae) use sweet potato glass noodles with a different sauce entirely — worth making to understand how much noodle choice shapes a dish. If it’s the savoury-spicy broth you’re after, Korean Tteokbokki hits the same register with chewy rice cakes in place of noodles. And if it’s the crispy chicken that brought you here, the Spicy Szechuan Chicken uses a similar double-fry technique but takes the finished result somewhere completely different — it’s a good back-to-back with this one to see how the same base method produces two entirely different dishes. For feeding a crowd on a weeknight without much fuss, Indonesian Nasi Goreng is the answer — pantry staples, one wok, scales up easily. More across all cuisines in the stir fry collection.

How to Serve It

The bowl is complete without anything extra. But if you want to push it further:

Fukujinzuke pickles — mixed pickled vegetables you’ll find in jars at Japanese grocery stores. They’re crunchy, slightly sweet and salty, and they do exactly what a good pickle should do: cut through the richness of the broth. If you can’t find them, pickled ginger does the same job.

Soft-boiled egg — 6.5 minutes in boiling water, straight into an ice bath, then peel. The jammy yolk breaks into the broth and adds another layer of richness. Worth the extra 10 minutes.

Shichimi togarashi — Japanese seven-spice. It’s not just heat — there’s citrus peel, sesame, nori, and ginger in there. A light dusting over the bowl right before eating makes everything taste sharper and brighter.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (1 portion — approximately ¼ of the full recipe, including 1 chicken thigh, broth, and noodles). Values are estimates and will vary based on specific brands used.

Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Total Fat	Saturated Fat	Fibre	Sugar	Sodium
680 kcal	45 g	68 g	22 g	5 g	4 g	7 g	1,180 mg

Sodium is higher due to the curry roux and soy sauce. To reduce, use low-sodium soy sauce and reduce the roux by one cube.

Shop This Recipe

These are the exact products I use. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases — see disclaimer for details.

• 🍛 S&B Golden Curry Roux — Mild / Medium / Hot
• 🍛 House Vermont Curry Roux — Mild / Medium / Hot
• 🥣 Hondashi Dashi Powder — Instant dashi stock
• 🫙 Soy Sauce (Low-Sodium)
• 🍶 Mirin — Sweet Japanese rice wine
• 🌶️ Shichimi Togarashi — Japanese seven-spice blend
• 🥒 Fukujinzuke Pickles — Classic Japanese curry side
• 🌸 Pickled Ginger — Palate cleanser & garnish

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs? You can, but thighs are better for this. The fat content keeps them juicy even if your oil temperature isn’t perfectly calibrated. Breasts are leaner and have almost no margin — go a minute too long and they dry out. If you use breasts, butterfly them to an even thickness first and pull them off at exactly 75°C / 165°F internal. Don’t guess.

What dashi should I use? Hondashi instant dashi powder dissolved in hot water. That’s what I use on weeknights and the broth is still excellent. If you want to make it from scratch — kombu steeped in cold water, bonito flakes added at just below a simmer — the depth is noticeably better and worth it when you have 20 minutes. Either way works here.

Can I make this ahead of time? The curry broth is better the next day — the flavours settle and deepen. Make it up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. It’ll thicken as it sits; just loosen it with a splash of water or dashi when you reheat. Fry the katsu on the day. Cook the noodles at the last minute — they go soft in hot broth within a few minutes and there’s no recovering that texture.

Can I air fry the chicken katsu? Yes, and it’s good. Spray the crumbed chicken very generously with oil — more than feels necessary — and air fry at 200°C / 390°F for 12–14 minutes, flipping halfway. The crust won’t be quite as crispy on the underside as deep-fried, but the top is excellent and the cleanup is considerably easier.

What udon noodles work best? Frozen Sanuki-style udon. It has the thick, springy chew that makes this bowl what it is. Vacuum-packed pre-cooked udon is an acceptable backup. Dried udon works if it’s all you can find, but the texture is noticeably flatter — less chew, less presence in the broth.

How spicy is this? Japanese curry is mild compared to Indian or Thai curry. It’s more savoury and slightly sweet than hot. The spice level is entirely controlled by which roux you buy — mild, medium, or hot. I use medium. If you’re cooking for people who don’t do heat at all, go mild — it still has plenty of flavour.

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