Name: Wagamama Chicken Katsu Curry
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 1 large onion (finely chopped); 2 carrots (peeled and chopped); 3 garlic cloves (minced); 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (grated); 2 tablespoons mild curry powder; 1 teaspoon garam masala; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 2 tablespoons plain flour; 2 cups 480 ml chicken stock; 1/2 cup 120 ml coconut milk (optional, for extra creaminess); 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 2 teaspoons honey; 1 bay leaf; Salt (to taste); 4 chicken breasts (about 600 g, pounded to an even thickness); 1/2 cup plain flour; 2 eggs (beaten); 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs; Salt and black pepper; Vegetable oil (for shallow frying); 2 cups cooked jasmine or sticky rice; 2 spring onions (finely sliced); A small side salad or pickles (optional)

Chicken katsu curry is the dish that made Wagamama famous: crispy panko-fried chicken, a smooth golden curry sauce and a mound of sticky rice, all in one comforting bowl. It has been the star of the Wagamama menu for years, and if you want to see what the restaurants are serving right now, the full Wagamama menu with prices is worth a look before you cook. The good news is that the homemade version is much easier than it looks, and it tastes every bit as good as the restaurant bowl.

This copycat recipe keeps everything people love about the original. The chicken stays crunchy under the sauce, the curry is blended silky smooth with a gentle sweetness, and the whole dinner lands on the table in about 45 minutes with ingredients from any regular supermarket.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The chicken coating is proper panko, so it fries up shatteringly crisp and stays that way even after the sauce goes on.

The sauce is blended completely smooth, sweet and mild the way the restaurant makes it, with no curry paste or hard-to-find ingredients.

It is a full takeaway-style dinner at home for a fraction of the restaurant price, and the sauce alone makes enough to spoon over everything.

Ingredients

For the curry sauce:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups (480 ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut milk (optional, for extra creaminess)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
1 bay leaf
Salt, to taste

For the chicken:

4 chicken breasts (about 600 g), pounded to an even thickness
1/2 cup plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
Salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying

To serve:

2 cups cooked jasmine or sticky rice
2 spring onions, finely sliced
A small side salad or pickles (optional)

Jump to Recipe

How to Make It

Step 1: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and sweet but not browned.

Step 2: Stir in the garlic, ginger, curry powder, garam masala and turmeric and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for another minute.

Step 3: Slowly pour in the chicken stock, stirring as you go so no lumps form. Add the soy sauce, honey and bay leaf, then simmer gently for 15 minutes until the carrots are completely soft.

Step 4: Remove the bay leaf and blend the sauce until it is completely smooth and glossy — this blending step is the whole secret to the restaurant texture. Stir in the coconut milk if using, season with salt, and keep warm on the lowest heat.

Step 5: While the sauce simmers, bread the chicken. Season the flour with salt and pepper, then coat each chicken breast in flour, dip it in the beaten egg, and press it firmly into the panko until well covered on both sides.

Step 6: Heat about 1 cm of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deep golden, crisp and cooked through. Rest for 2 minutes, then slice into thick strips.

Step 7: Spoon the rice into bowls, lay the sliced chicken on top, and ladle the curry sauce generously over one side, restaurant style. Finish with the spring onions and serve straight away.

Cooking Tips / Variations

Blend the sauce properly. Any graininess disappears with a full minute of blending, and a stick blender works fine right in the pan.

Make the hot version: Wagamama serves a hot chicken katsu too. Add 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes to the sauce, or swap the mild curry powder for a hot one.

Go vegetarian (yasai style): swap the chicken for thick slices of sweet potato and aubergine, breaded and fried exactly the same way, and use vegetable stock in the sauce.

Air fryer chicken: spray the breaded chicken with oil and air fry at 200°C (400°F) for 12 to 14 minutes, turning halfway. If you like a fully spicy Asian dinner instead, my Tteokbokki recipe brings the heat in a very different way.

Serving or Storage Tips

Serve the katsu curry the moment the chicken is sliced so the coating stays crisp under the sauce. A small crunchy salad or a few pickles on the side cut through the richness nicely.

The sauce keeps for 3 days in the fridge and freezes well for up to 2 months, so it is worth making a double batch. Store leftover chicken separately and reheat it in a hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes so it crisps back up instead of going soft in the microwave.

Conclusion

Once you have made this Wagamama chicken katsu curry at home, the restaurant queue gets a lot easier to skip: crunchy chicken, silky sauce and sticky rice, all from your own kitchen in under an hour. For your next Asian fakeaway night, try my Stir Fry Rice Noodles — another takeaway favourite that comes together fast.