Step 1

Gather all the ingredients.

Step 2

Slice the chicken diagonally. This cutting technique is called Sogigiri in Japanese. Each piece will have more surface area so it will cook faster. Tip: The Japanese use chopsticks to eat Chicken Katsu, so the chicken is cut into bite-sized pieces. It's easier to deep fry individual small pieces of chicken katsu than 3 big chicken breasts then slice into pieces after deep frying. You also want to consider the chicken katsu texture. If you want to deep fry a big chicken breast, you have to pound the chicken to even thickness. By doing this, it loses some texture. Therefore, I like to pre-slice (diagonally) and deep fry.

Step 3

Put the chicken in a bowl and add sake, salt, and pepper. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Step 4

Coat the chicken with flour and shake off any excess.

Step 5

Dredge each chicken piece in the beaten egg.

Step 6

Coat the chicken with Panko and remove any excess. If you have time, let the chicken sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Step 7

Heat 1-2 inch of oil in the cast iron skillet or a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Drop a piece of panko to see if the oil is ready. If you are new to deep-frying, use a thermometer to check the temperature of oil (Read How To Deep Fry Food). The oil should be 350 ºF (180 ºC).

Step 8

Put 2-3 pieces of chicken in at a time. If you put too many chicken pieces, the temperature of the oil will drop too quickly and the chicken will end up absorbing too much oil.

Step 9

Deep fry until both sides are golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined tray to remove excess oil.

Step 10

Between batches, make sure to pick up breadcrumbs. When you don’t pick them up, the breadcrumbs will get burnt and the oil will get darker. Make sure to keep the oil clean throughout deep frying.

Step 11

Serve immediately with tonkatsu sauce and salad.

Step 12

You can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat, bake at 350 ºF (180 ºC) for 15-20 minutes for defrosted ones or 45 minutes for frozen ones. Check if the inside is warm before serving.