Chicken katsu curry

• 500gChicken breast fillets
• 4 tbspPlain flour
• 1Egg
• 100gPanko breadcrumbs
• 100mlVegetable oil, for shallow frying
• 1Brown onion
• 1Carrot
• 2 clovesGarlic
• 2 tbspMedium curry powder
• 1 cubeVegetable stock cube, made up to 500ml
• 1 tbspClear honey
• 1 tbspSoy sauce
• 300gBasmati rice
• ½Cucumber

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1. 1

   Roughly chop the onion and carrot and slice the garlic. Make up the stock cube with 500ml boiling water.

2. 2

   Warm 1 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan and soften the onion and carrot for 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, curry powder and 1 tbsp of the flour for a minute.

   10 min, mostly hands-off

3. 3

   Gradually stir in the stock, then the honey and soy. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the carrot is soft, then blitz until smooth with a stick blender. Add a splash of water if it is too thick.

   18 min, mostly hands-off

4. 4

   Meanwhile, rinse the rice and boil it in plenty of salted water for 12 minutes. Drain and cover with the lid.

   14 min, mostly hands-off

5. 5

   Meanwhile, slice each chicken breast in half horizontally and flatten to about 1cm with a rolling pin. Put the rest of the flour, the beaten egg and the panko on three plates. Season the flour, then coat each piece in flour, egg and crumbs.

6. 6

   Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken in two batches for 3 minutes a side, until deep golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.

7. 7

   Slice the cucumber. Cut the chicken into thick strips and serve on the rice, with the sauce poured alongside and the cucumber on the side.