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Kushikatsu

Kushikatsu (or kushiage) is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of skewered meat and fried vegetables.

Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
2 hrs
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 736 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. Japanese panko
  • salt
  • black pepper , freshly ground
  • vegetable oil
Kushikatsu Sauce
  • ½ cup Japanese Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 tablespoons ketchup
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 3 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
Kushikatsu
  • 24 quail eggs
  • ½ onion
  • 20 stalks Chinese scallion
  • 6 oz. gari (pickled ginger)
  • 3 pork sausages , cut into 1-inch (2 cm) pieces
  • 10 oz. boneless pork loin , 1-inch (2 cm) thick
  • 1 chicken breast
  • 4 lices pork belly
  • 6 large prawns
  • 1 piece 6-inch / 15 cm renkon (lotus root)
  • Water with vinegar , 2 tablespoons of white vinegar + 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, added to 1 quart / 1 l of cold water
For the dough
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups water , or more
Equipment
  • food processor
  • Meat mallet
  • Stand mixer
  • bamboo skewers
  • Colander

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Add the panko into the food processor and blend until a powder is obtained.
Kushikatsu Sauce
  1. In a bowl, mix all the necessary ingredients for the kushikatsu sauce and whisk well.
Kushikatsu
  1. Boil the water in a small saucepan and carefully lower the quail eggs into the boiling water.
  2. Cook for 3 minutes and transfer them to ice water to cool them.
  3. Peel the eggs and reserve them.
  4. Cut the half onion into wedges.
  5. Discard the green of the scallion stalks and cut them, each, into 4 equal sticks.
  6. Cut the pork loin into 4 pieces and pound them using a meat mallet to soften them. Set aside.
  7. Cut the pork belly diagonally about ½ inch (1 to 1.5 cm) thick. Season with salt, pepper, and set aside.
  8. Peel and devein the shrimp. Set aside.
  9. Cut the chicken breast diagonally about ½ inch (1 to 1.5 cm) thick. Season with salt, pepper, and set aside.
  10. Peel the lotus root and slice it ½ inch (1 to 1.5 cm) thick to give it a flower shape.
  11. Soak the slices in a large container of vinegar water for 10 minutes.
  12. Boil water in a saucepan and immerse the lotus root slices in it for 5 minutes to blanch them.
Skewers
  1. Skewer all the kushikatsu ingredients on bamboo skewers.
  2. For the quail eggs and sausages, include 3 pieces per skewer.
  3. For the dari (marinated ginger), drain it, wipe it and include a few leaves on a skewer.
  4. For the onion, prick it in the center to skewer it.
  5. Reserve all the skewers.
Dough
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the eggs well and add ¾ of the water. Reserve the last quarter.
  2. Then add the flour and whisk everything together.
  3. Very slowly add the rest of the water until getting a fairly liquid but thick dough (when dipping the finger, it should be covered with dough).
Frying
  1. Add the panko into a deep dish.
  2. Bring the frying oil to a temperature of about 350 F (175ºC), a temperature that must be maintained throughout frying.
  3. When the oil is ready for frying, first fry the vegetable and root skewers, then the quail eggs, then the sausages and meats and finally the prawns.
  4. Just before plunging the skewers into the oil, dip the skewered ingredients into the batter and then into the panko.
  5. Remove excess panko and fry until crispy and golden.
  6. It is recommended to filter the oil 2 or 3 times depending on its color during frying in order to keep it clean because the panko burns and darkens the oil, which changes the color and the taste.
  7. Drain the fried skewers in a colander then gradually place the fried foods on absorbent paper.
  8. Serve immediately with kushikatsu sauce and ichimi togarashi (Japanese pepper).