Recipe: Stuart Ralston’s Chicken katsu sandwich recipe

Stuart Ralston, the owner and head chef at Edinburgh’s Noto and Aizle, reveals his method for the crispiest chicken katsu sandwich.

Stuart says: ‘Sandwiches, a British staple, perfected by the Japanese!. We make the bread for this, which makes all the difference: it’s a chunky sandwich so it needs a decent white pan loaf, and a soft milk bread like pain de mie is ideal.

‘Tonkatsu, or Bulldog sauce, is a Japanese condiment similar to a BBQ sauce, with a very tangy, sour, dark molasses flavour. It is readily available in most Asian supermarkets.’

• 8 thick slices Pain de Mie (or white pan loaf)
• 100g white cabbage, shredded
• 100g Kimchi
• 150g Kewpie May
• 100g Bulldog tonkatsu sauce
• 8 boneless chicken thighs
• 170g buttermilk
• 200g plain flour
• 100g cornflakes, crushed
• 6g salt
• Vegetable oil to deep fry

1. Cover a board with clingfilm, then place a chicken piece flat on top and cover with another layer of clingfilm. With a mallet or saucepan, flatten the chicken to a thickness of 5mm. Put the chicken pieces in a bowl and pour over the buttermilk. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and pat dry to remove any excess moisture. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour with the cornflakes and salt. Place a piece of chicken in the mix and press it down firmly, then flip it and repeat until the chicken is well coated. Repeat with the remaining pieces
3. Heat a deep fryer or air fryer to 180°C and cook the chicken a few pieces at a time for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and a probe shows an internal temperature of 65°C. Drain on paper towels and season lightly with additional salt. Make sure you allow the oil to return to a temperature of 180°C before cooking the next batch.
4. Toast the bread until golden brown.
5. Mix the cabbage and kimchi with 50g kewpie mayo and season as necessary. Spread the remaining mayonnaise thinly on all eight slices of toasted bread, then cover four of them evenly with the kimchi mix. Place two pieces of chicken on top of the kimchi mix and drizzle with tonkatsu sauce.
6. Cover with the remaining four slices and gently press down. Slice off the crusts and cut the sandwiches in half.