Jamaican Jerk Katsu Chicken Sandwich
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Sandwiches
Cuisine
Asian
Servings
4
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Hit a katsu sando with crispy jerk-spiced chicken, sticky-sweet Jamaican Jerk tonkatsu sauce, cold shaved cabbage, Duke’s mayo, and pillowy Japanese milk bread holding the whole beautiful mess together because restraint has never made a better sandwich.
Author:Chef Christian Gill
Ingredients
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2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, filleted into 4 cutlets
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3 cups finely shaved green cabbage
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8 slices Japanese milk bread
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Duke’s Mayonnaise, to taste
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Kosher salt, as needed
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⅔ cup ketchup
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3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
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2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
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1 tablespoon soy sauce
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2 teaspoons mirin
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1 tbsp Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
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2 cups all-purpose flour
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1 tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
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4 large eggs, whisked
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3 cups panko breadcrumbs
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1 gallon neutral frying oil, or enough for deep frying
Directions
Make the Jerk Tonkatsu Sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, dark brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mirin, and Jamaican Jerk Seasoning until smooth. Set aside until ready to assemble the sandwiches.
Prepare the Chicken
Slice each chicken breast horizontally to create 4 cutlets total. Pound each cutlet to an even thickness so it cooks quickly and uniformly.
Lightly season both sides with kosher salt. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.
Dredge
Combine the flour and 1 tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Seasoning in a shallow bowl.
Place the whisked eggs in a second bowl and the panko in a third.
Coat each chicken cutlet thoroughly in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.
Dip into the egg, allowing the excess to drip away.
Press firmly into the panko, making sure the chicken is completely and evenly coated.
Fry
Preheat the frying oil to 360°F.
Fry the chicken cutlets for approximately 2–3 minutes, depending on thickness, until deeply golden, crisp, and cooked to a safe internal temperature of 165°F.
Remove from the oil and transfer to a wire rack. Rest for about 5 minutes before building the sandwiches.
Build the Sando
Spread a generous layer of Duke’s mayonnaise over one side of each slice of Japanese milk bread.
Place one crispy jerk katsu cutlet onto four slices of bread. Spoon or brush generously with the Jamaican Jerk Tonkatsu Sauce.
Top each with a mound of finely shaved green cabbage.
Close with the remaining slices of milk bread, mayo-side down.
Gently press, slice in half, and serve immediately.
Recipe Note
Pound the chicken evenly, not paper-thin. You want enough thickness to stay juicy inside while the panko gets crisp outside.
Really press the panko into the chicken during dredging. Loose breading falls off in the fryer; a firmly packed crust gives you that thick, craggy Japanese katsu crunch.
The jerk seasoning works twice here: once in the crust for aromatic heat and again in the tonkatsu sauce where the brown sugar, Worcestershire, soy, and mirin turn it sticky, sweet, and savory.
Keep the cabbage raw and very finely shaved. That cold, clean crunch is what keeps the sandwich from getting too rich
