Have you ever had katsu curry? It’s a Japanese dish, traditionally made with a panko-crusted and fried slice of meat topped with curry sauce and served over rice. Everything but the meat sounded really good to me, so I decided to create a vegan version! Eggplant makes a wonderful meat substitute in a dish like katsu curry — it fries up beautifully and goes great with the flavors of Japanese curry sauce. Let’s talk about how it’s made!
What You’ll Need
Vegetable oil. Feel free to substitute just about any high-heat oil, such as peanut, corn, or canola.Onion.Garlic.Ginger.Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but it will also work with whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour.Japanese curry powder. I like S&B brand, which is available at lots of supermarkets. If you can’t find Japanese curry powder, try using a mixture of regular curry powder (something like McCormick or Trader Joe’s brand) and garam masala.Water.Tomato paste.Soy sauce. Feel free to substitute tamari or liquid aminos.Vegan Worcestershire sauce. Annie’s, Edward & Sons, and Whole Foods brands are all vegan. Eggplant. Just about any variety will work. I recommend sticking with smaller eggplants. Tip: If your eggplant is larger, a bit old, or shows browning when you cut into it, consider salting it to remove any bitterness.Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that’s unsweetened and unflavored will work.Ground flaxseed. Ground chia seed will work as a substitute.Salt.Panko breadcrumbs.Cooked rice. I like serving this dish with a sticky, short-grain white rice.Scallions.Toasted sesame seeds.
How to Make Vegan Katsu Curry
The following is a summary of how to make this dish, along with some pro tips. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the full recipe.
Begin by making the sauce: sweat some onion in oil for a few minutes, then add ginger, garlic, and curry powder. Cook the spices briefly, just until the mixture becomes fragrant. Be careful: sautéing your spices too long can make them bitter.Stir in the flour until it coats the onions, then add water, tomato paste, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture up to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes to thicken it up.Now bread and cook the eggplant. Mix up a batter from the milk, flour, flaxseeds and salt. Mix up a breading from panko breadcrumbs and flour.Cut your eggplant into thin slices, then batter and bread both sides of each slice. Fry the slices in a bit of oil for a few minutes on each side, until they’re golden and crispy. Tip: eggplant really absorbs oil, so make sure you’re using enough of it. It should be between ⅛ and ¼ inch deep before you add your eggplant. Add oil to the pan between batches if it dries up.
To serve, spoon some rice on a plate and arrange the fried eggplant slices on top. Spoon the sauce over the eggplant, then sprinkle everything with chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
Leftovers & Storage
Eggplant katsu curry is best served right away, as it won’t stay crispy for long. If you do have leftovers, they’ll keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days.
More Japanese-Inspired Vegan Recipes
Vegan RamenVegan Vegetable TempuraVegan Japanese CurryJapanese Fried RiceVeggie & Smoky Tofu SushiTeriyaki Tofu
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