How to make the best chicken katsu curry, with Frylight

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CHICKEN KATSU CURRY, WITH FRYLIGHT

One of the key changes I have made to the way I cook in the last few years is a reduction in the amount of oil that I use. I always used to glug in the olive oil thinking of it as ‘healthy fat’, but the truth is, if you are working on reducing the calories that you consume in order to lose weight, then cutting down on oils is one of the easiest changes to make, and all oils and fats are full of calories, even if they are presented as the ‘healthy option’- in fact coconut oil has a higher level of saturated fat than even butter, so is not a healthy choice despite its recent popularity!

A mistake that many people make when starting a new ‘health kick’ and thinking about their weight, is thinking that you need to radically change the way that you eat. The fact is that you can still enjoy many favourite, typically unhealthy dishes just by cooking them at home, and being in control of what they contain. I still enjoy curries, burgers & chips, Chinese & Mexican food, but I make my own!

Here are a few easy ways to cut calories in meals:

1. Cook from scratch! It doesn’t have to be time consuming- many meals can be made in the time it would take to heat up a ready-meal!
2. Cut down on fat by using Frylight instead of oil, and lean meats (less than 5% fat) instead of fatty.
3. Cut down on sugar  (often added to ready meals) by cooking from scratch
4. I add extra veggies where I can- for example pack out a bolognese sauce with celery, carrot, mushrooms and onion, and always serve extra vegetables as part of the meal- they have amazing filling power, and allow you to cut down the amount of pasta/potatoes/rice that you are consuming
5. Think carefully about dressings/sauces- many are high in fat and sugar and it’s easy to make your own healthy alternative

Frylight is a fantastic alternative to oils and fats for cooking, it contains just 1 calorie per spray (olive oil contains 120 calories per tbsp) and you can still easily achieve those ‘fried’ results without adding all those extra calories. Frylight’s unique formulation, and pump action spray allows you to accurately control the amount of oil used in your cooking with no compromise when it comes to taste. You can either spray it in a pan- perfect for frying onion, garlic, meats and pancakes, or use it on oven baked goods such as falafels, chicken nuggets and baked oats. You can find out more about Frylight, and see the full range here.

I’ve teamed up with Frylight to make one of my favourite typically calorie-laden meals at home. I love chicken katsu curry but a supermarket or restaurant version is usually packed with unnecessary calories, and it’s so easy to make your own!

Chicken katsu curry is one of my favourite treat meals- the crispy coated chicken works perfectly with the rich curry sauce. Cornflakes make a brilliant crispy coating, that also looks amazing and is baked rather than fried so you are able to get brilliant, crispy results with just a few sprays of Frylight (I use the rapeseed one for this recipe). The curry sauce tastes so authentic, you wouldn’t believe that it is actually full of goodness!

HAVE A LOOK BELOW FOR STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS AND FIND OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO CREATE THIS AT HOME:

1.Spray a cold pan with Rapeseed Frylight, and place onto the heat to warm up:

2. Fry onions and garlic gently for 5 minutes until the onions have softened:

3. Add flour and curry powder, and stir into the onion & garlic:

4. Add the chicken stock, and stir well:

5. Add the carrots, honey, soy sauce, garam masala and salt & pepper, stir, and leave to simmer:

6. Cover the chicken breasts with clingfilm and use a rolling pin to bash them and thin them down to a thickness of 1cm:

7. Crush the cornflakes- either use a sandwich bag and crush them by hand/with a rolling pin, or in a food processor:

8. Coat the chicken breast in beaten egg, and then coat in the cornflake crumbs:

9. Spray the bottom of a baking tray with Frylight, and place the chicken on it. Spray the top of the chicken with Frylight to coat. Pop into the oven for 25 minutes:

10. Blend the curry sauce with a hand blender:

11. Remove the chicken from the oven, and slice up to serve:

12. Serve with basmati rice, and carrots and cucumbers sliced into ribbons:

Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Frylight. All words and images are my own.