Vegan Katsu Curry with Crispy Aubergine
Discover how to make your own aromatic and delicious vegan katsu curry with this easy vegan curry recipe.
Want more vegan recipes? Try 3 issues of Vegan Food & Living magazine for just £3!
Katsu curry has increased in popularity across the UK and we can completely understand why! The textures and taste this flavourful curry brings are so distinctive, and we’re thrilled it can easily be made vegan.
What does ‘katsu’ mean?
Katsu is a Japanese word for ‘fried cutlet’, and was first recorded in Tokyo in the late 1800s.
Traditionally, katsu curries would use a piece of meat, but you can easily swap it out for a vegan alternative to make a vegan version.
What is vegan katsu made of?
Tofu and pumpkin are both tasty alternatives to meat in vegan katsu recipes, but we’ve opted for aubergine in this recipe.
Aubergine is a great vegetable that can completely transform a dish with the right seasoning and prep.
Aside from the fried element of the dish, katsu curries include two other main components: rice and curry sauce. The combination of freshly made rice with a spicy curry sauce and panko-fried aubergine really is too good to miss.
To make your own vegan katsu curry, you will need a pan, a cutting board, some kitchen paper, a couple of large bowls, a whisk, a food processor, and a baking tray.
There are many delicious vegan aubergine recipes, but this will definitely be one that you come back to again and again.
Total Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Rating:
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
(Servings: 4)
- 0.5 0.5 aubergines
- 15 15 g flour
- 37.5 37.5 ml oat milk
- 30 30 g panko breadcrumbs
- a generous pinch of salt
- For the sauce:
- 0.5 0.5 onions
- 0.5 0.5 carrots
- 1.25 1.25 cm fresh ginger
- 0.5 0.5 garlic cloves
- 0.5 0.5 Tbsp sesame oil
- 0.75 0.75 Tbsp mild curry paste
- 0.75 0.75 Tbsp soy sauce
- 75 75 ml vegetable stock
- 62.5 62.5 ml coconut milk
Method
- Peel the onion, carrots, ginger, and garlic, and roughly chop the vegetables.
- Heat the sesame oil in a pan and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and fry for another 3 minutes. Deglaze with soy sauce and vegetable stock. Let simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the aubergines into about 1 cm thick slices. Spread the aubergine discs on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, turn around and repeat on the other side. Dab off the remaining salt and the extracted water with kitchen paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and the oat milk lump-free with a fork or whisk. Season with salt and pepper.
- Put the panko breadcrumbs in another large bowl.
- Crumb the aubergines by coating them in the flour-oat milk mixture and then in the panko breadcrumbs. Repeat until all the aubergines are breadcrumbed.
- You can either bake the aubergines for 15-20 minutes on each side in the oven at 200°C. Or you can fry them in a pan with sesame oil until they are golden-brown and crispy.
- To finalise the sauce, put the soft vegetables with all the liquid in a food processor and mix until creamy. Add the coconut milk and mix again. Transfer the sauce back to the pan and heat it up.
- Serve the crispy aubergines with some white rice and the Katsu sauce on top.
Fancy another helping? Check out our best vegan curry recipes.
