This easy chicken katsudon recipe is perfect for those busy weeknights, or when you are after a simple but delicious recipe to make for meal prep.
It's filling, and packed full of flavor.
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This beloved dish combines crispy, golden-brown chicken cutlets with a delicious, sweet-and-savory sauce, all nestled on top of a bed of fluffy rice.
Perfectly balancing textures and flavors, chicken katsudon has secured its place as a timeless favorite in Japanese cuisine.
Ideal for a quick weeknight dinner or a leisurely weekend feast, chicken katsudon offers a delicious escape from the ordinary.
Its versatility makes it a crowd-pleaser at family gatherings or a satisfying solo indulgence.
This chicken katsu bowl is simple to make, and is great to enjoy for busy weeknights, or when you are meal prepping for the coming week.
If you are after other delicious and easy to make rice bowl recipes, you might like to try Korean Tuna Rice Bowl, Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl, Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl, Ground Turkey Rice Bowl Recipes, and Rice Bowl Meal Prep.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This chicken katsudon recipe is great for meal prep as it can be made in advance.
- Chicken katsu bowl is budget friendly, and most of the ingredients you may already have.
- This chicken katsu recipe is easy to make.
Cost To Make
Estimated cost = $7.50, or $1.87 a serve
Ingredients
Please note that below is a guide for some of the ingredients we used in the recipe. The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.
For the Rice
- Sushi rice
- Water
For the Sauce
- Water
- Dashi powder
- Light soy sauce
- Mirin
- White sugar
For the Chicken
- All purpose flour (plain flour)
- Breadcrumbs: We recommend using panko breadcrumbs. This will be used to coat the chicken.
- Eggs: Lightly beaten, or as needed, for coating chicken.
- Skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs: Or you could use chicken breast. If using chicken breast, you may need to pound any thicker pieces of chicken to make it thinner.
- Salt
- Oil for frying: The chicken will be shallow fried.
- Brown onion: thinly sliced
- Eggs: Lightly beaten and salted, for serving.
Instructions
This recipe for chicken katsudon serves 4. The ingredient quantities can easily be adjusted to suit how many serves you need to make.
For the Rice
Step One: Rinse the sushi rice under room temperature water until the water becomes clear. Drain well.
Step Two: Place rinsed and drained rice in a medium sized saucepan and add the water. Make sure the rice sits evenly along the bottom of the saucepan.
Step Three: Bring the rice and water to a boil over medium to high heat. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to low to bring it to a simmer.
Step Four: Gently stir the rice, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Step Five: Turn off heat and allow the rice to rest, covered, for a further 15 minutes. Fluff the rice and allow the rice to cool before using.
For the Sauce
Step One: Place all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix together, until combined.
Step Two: Separate the sauce evenly into 4 portions. Set aside.
For the Chicken
Step One: Place the flour in a wide bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a separate wide bowl. And place the lightly beaten eggs in another separate wide bowl. Set aside.
Step Two: Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces and season with salt.
Step Three: Dip a piece of chicken into the flour. Dust off any excess flour. Then dip into the egg. And then coat with breadcrumbs. Repeat for all chicken pieces.
Step Four: Heat oil in a medium sized frying pan. Shallow fry the chicken over medium to high heat. Once cooked, remove from pan.
Step Five: Cut the chicken into strips and divide chicken into 4 portions.
Putting It All Together
Step One: Portion rice into medium sized serving bowls. Set aside.
Step Two: In a small bowl, beat 1 egg. Set aside.
Step Three: In a small frying pan, add 1 portion of sauce and some sliced onion. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft, but don't let the liquid dry out too much.
Step Four: Once the onions are soft, place 1 portion of chicken on top and then pour over the beaten egg. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the egg is cooked.
Step Five: Turn off heat, and place over 1 portion of rice in a bowl. Repeat for remaining ingredients.
To transfer the cooked ingredients to a bowl with rice, gently shake the pan to loosen the ingredients and then slide it over the rice. You could use a spatula to help, if needed. Serve.
Substitutions / Variations
- You could use chicken breasts for this recipe. For thicker pieces of chicken, you may need to pound the chicken to make it smaller.
- Instead of chicken you could use pork.
- Add some curry powder to your sauce to make curry chicken katsudon.
- Instead of sushi rice, you could use jasmine rice. You will need to cook the rice for 20 minutes, if using jasmine rice.
Serving Suggestions
Some ways you may like to serve this chicken katsudon recipe:
- Serve chicken katsudon with a side of steamed broccoli, carrots, or snap peas.
- With pickled radishes.
- A side of miso soup
- Garnished with sliced green onions
- With a crispy cabbage salad
Storage
This recipe for chicken katsu can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. To reheat, you could use a microwave.
FAQ
Dashi, is a Japanese stock made from kombu (seaweed) and bonito flakes (dried fish). Renowned for its umami-rich profile, dashi serves as a versatile base for soups, stews, and sauces. This recipe uses dashi powder.
Donburi is a Japanese dish featuring a bowl of rice topped with various ingredients like meat, vegetables, or seafood, often simmered in a savory soy-based sauce.
Katsudon is a Japanese dish composed of a breaded and fried meat such as chicken or pork) served on a bed of rice, topped with eggs and a sweet soy-based sauce.
Chicken katsudon consists of breaded and fried chicken cutlets served over rice, garnished with eggs and a flavorful sauce made from soy, mirin, and dashi.
Tonkatsu is a deep-fried pork cutlet, while katsudon is a dish featuring fried meat, such as tonkatsu or chicken served over rice with eggs and sauce.
Tonkatsu refers to the cutlet, whereas katsudon is a complete dish.
What rice is used for what?
Ever wondered which might be the best rice to use for a dish you're about to make.
Or maybe you're just curious and want to know more about rice in general.
Why not check out our pages on what is basmati rice and what is jasmine rice.
Helpful Rice Cooking Tips
Want to know how to cook rice or just need a little refresher?
Check out how to easily cook basmati rice, sushi rice, and jasmine rice on the stovetop.
Or, why not check out our recipes on how to make basmati rice, jasmine rice, and sushi rice in the Instant Pot.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below! We'd love to hear how it turned out.
More Mains Recipes
Recipe
Chicken Katsudon Recipe
Ingredients
For the Rice
- 1 cup (215 grams, 7.58 ounces) sushi rice
- 1 ½ cups (375 ml/grams, 13.22 ounces) water
For the Sauce
- 200 ml/grams (7.05 ounces) water
- ¼ teasopon dashi powder
- 4 tablespoon (70 grams, 2.46 ounces) light soy sauce
- 4 tablespoon (70 grams, 2.46 ounces) mirin
- 4 teaspoon (16 grams, 0.56 ounces) white sugar
For the Chicken
- ½ cup (60 grams, 2.12 ounces) all purpose flour (plain flour), or as needed
- 1 cup (50 grams, 1.76 ounces) breadcrumbs e.g. panko, or as needed
- 2 eggs lightly beaten, or as needed, for coating chicken
- 400 grams (14.11 ounces) skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Oil for frying
- 1 medium (110 grams, 3.88 ounces) brown onion thinly sliced
- 4 eggs lightly beaten and salted, for serving
Instructions
For the Rice
- Rinse the sushi rice under room temperature water until the water becomes clear. Drain well.
- Place rinsed and drained rice in a medium sized saucepan and add the water. Make sure the rice sits evenly along the bottom of the saucepan.
- Bring the rice and water to a boil over medium to high heat. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to low to bring it to a simmer.
- Gently stir the rice, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat and allow the rice to rest, covered, for a further 15 minutes. Fluff the rice and allow the rice to cool before using.
For the Sauce
- Place all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix together, until combined.
- Separate the sauce evenly into 4 portions. Set aside.
For the Chicken
- Place the flour in a wide bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a separate wide bowl. And place the lightly beaten eggs in another separate wide bowl. Set aside.
- Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces and season with salt.
- Dip a piece of chicken into the flour. Dust off any excess flour. Then dip into the egg. And then coat with breadcrumbs. Repeat for all chicken pieces.
- Heat oil in a medium sized frying pan. Shallow fry the chicken over medium to high heat. Once cooked, remove from pan.
- Cut the chicken into strips and divide chicken into 4 portions.
Putting It All Together
- Portion rice into medium sized serving bowls. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat 1 egg. Set aside.
- In a small frying pan, add 1 portion of sauce and some sliced onion. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft, but don't let the liquid dry out too much.
- Once the onions are soft, place 1 portion of chicken on top and then pour over the beaten egg. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the egg is cooked.
- Turn off heat, and place over 1 portion of rice in a bowl. Repeat for remaining ingredients. Serve.
Sue-Ellen says
Made this a few days ago for meal prep. When I took it to work my coworkers all wanted to try some! I'll definitely be making this again. Thanks