The Japanese dish known as ‘katsu curry’ has become very fashionable in the UK over the past few years. This isn’t surprising as it’s delicious and just the sort of thing that British people (and people all over the world, of course) would enjoy.
Lately, however, as I stroll around the supermarket, I have come across all kinds of products claiming to be ‘katsu curry’ flavour. Some are well known brands made by big manufacturers but I sometimes wonder if the person who came up with the name really knows what katsu curry is.
In general I find the misinterpretation of the term ‘katsu curry’ quite puzzling and fairly amusing, I’m really surprised that marketing people, food technicians or whoever comes up with new food ideas don’t research what it is before settling on a name!
Most of the products I’ve seen labelled as ‘katsu curry flavour’ seem to mean a mild curry or chicken curry flavour. But that’s not katsu curry and what they probably mean is ‘Japanese curry’, possibly ‘curry rice’ or, let’s face it, just ‘curry’. Here are some fun examples (and this is no reflection on the quality or deliciousness of the products shown):
Hence my title: If there’s no katsu, then what you’ve got there is just curry.
So, what is ‘katsu curry’?
I’ll tell you what it’s not… It’s not a flavour or type of curry.
If you want to serve up katsu curry, then your dish will consist of some kind of katsu served on a mound of sticky Japanese rice with a good serving of Japanese curry poured around the edge or over the top. Delicious and filling!
So, let’s dissect that dish… What the heck is a katsu?
What does ‘katsu’ actually mean?
Basically the word ‘katsu’ (カツ) is a Japanese corruption of the English word ‘cutlet’, meaning a boneless cutlet or escalope of meat. The word ‘cutlet’ is a little difficult for Japanese people to pronounce in the way we would so it becomes ‘katsuretsu’, shortened to ‘katsu’, geddit?
The katsu meat, usually pork (tonkatsu - 豚カツ) or chicken (torikatsu - 鶏カツ or chikinkatsu - チキンカツ), is coated with egg and panko breadcrumbs and deep fat fried until crispy and succulent.
Even in Japan, although the origin is from the word ‘cutlet’, ‘katsu’ now gets applied to many things that have been coated in panko and deep fried. Menchi katsu (メンチカツ) – mince katsu – is a crispy fried ball of minced meat and onions, so not a cutlet at all but so delicious that you really must try it. You can also find beef katsu, ham katsu and fish katsu… the term could be applied to just about anything else cooked in this way.
Katsu is not just served with curry
In Japan, katsu is commonly served as a speciality dish on its own, not particularly requiring curry sauce.
The fried katsu is served cut into strips and covered with sweet and sticky ‘katsu sauce’, finely sliced cabbage salad along with rice and other side dishes.
Sometimes the katsu is served as 'katsudon', short for 'katsu donburi', where the katsu is served on a bowl of rice with katsu sauce and other toppings.
So how about the curry bit?
The curry, as you might expect, is originally based on an Indian curry. However, the recipe and style has been modified over the decades in to something more specific to Japanese tastes and not like Indian curry at all.
The Japanese do this to a lot of foreign foods that have become absorbed into the culture. It becomes totally Japan-ified, reflecting Japanese taste and sometimes becoming quite different from the original dish. So different, in fact, that you could truthfully call them Japanese cuisine.
Other examples are Naporitan (Neopolitan) spaghetti, tempura which originated in Portugal, ramen, which people think of as being traditionally Japanese but is originally a Chinese dish, and gyōza which originate from Chinese dumplings. And there are many more examples to look out for.
What is Japanese curry?
Typical Japanese curry is a thick, flavourful curry sauce with chunky vegetables such as carrot, onion and potato. Some cooks, particularly in restaurants, might make their own spice mix based on a combination of Indian spices, thickened with flour and sweetened with sugar or pulped fruit. At home, many people use processed curry roux blocks, that are melted into a plain stew, for convenience.
If the curry is to go with your katsu, then it’s usually a vegetable stew but otherwise it might also contain meat such as chicken or beef. If you’re just serving a plate of curry with sticky rice, then this is known in Japanese as ‘curry rice’ (カレーライス).
It seems that some Western manufacturers and restaurant chains think Japanese curry is like Thai curry but it’s really not. It doesn’t have the same aromatic taste or use the same herbs, spices or coconut base.
People also seem to think Japanese curry is characteristically mild but, just like Indian curry, it comes in various levels of spiciness, sometimes being quite hot.
From the products I have seen in the UK, on supermarket shelves or on restaurant menus, this Japanese style curry sauce is what people are calling ‘katsu curry’.
Lost in translation?
So maybe some of the confusion comes from people not having a knowledge of the Japanese language and how it deals with foreign words.
I’m sure most people don’t know that ‘katsu’ means a cutlet and there’s no reason why they should since the words don’t really sound similar.
Additionally, people might not realise the katsu part is a separate thing on its own because the Japanese don’t say ‘katsu with curry’, like we might say ‘chicken with white wine sauce’. This is just the way the language is, Japanese refer to ‘gin tonic’ and ‘curry rice’ because it’s awkward to insert the extra consonant in between.
When you learn Japanese, one of the first things you have to get to grips with is the three sets of characters that are used. Kanji and hiragana are used for writing normal Japanese words but the third set, katakana, is reserved for words with a foreign origin. ‘Katsu curry’ (カツカレー) is normally written in katakana, indicating that they are not Japanese words.
In Japanese, there are many examples of words that are ostensibly English but when you hear them or see them written in katakana are still not easy to translate (until you get your ear in and understand what’s happening to the pronunciation).
Things like 'terebi' (テレビ) for television, 'konbini' (コ ン ビ ニ) for convenience store and 'aisukurīmu' (アイスクリーム), ice-cream are not always easy to ‘see’ when you first encounter them.
Other interesting quirks
Tonkotsu / tonkatsu
If you go to Japanese restaurants, you may have seen ‘tonkotsu ramen’ on the menu. This is not a spelling mistake and you shouldn’t confuse it with the pork tonkatsu. You won’t get a fried katsu with your ramen (unless that’s also on the menu)!
In both cases ‘ton’ (豚) means pork but ‘kotsu’ (骨) is a Japanese word meaning bone stock and it is written in Kanji. Tonkotsu (豚骨) refers to a rich, pork-bone-based broth used in ramen.
‘Katsu’ (カツ) however is written in katakana because it comes from the English word ‘cutlet’ and, as we have seen, refers to the breaded fried escalope. 'Tonkatsu' (豚カツ) therefore is written in a mixture of kanji and katakana.
Hanbāgā / hanbāgu
Even more confusing in Japanese is the use of 'hanbāgu' (ハンバーグ) and 'hanbāgā' (ハンバーガー).
While both are derived from the English word ‘hamburger’ they represent distinct dishes with different preparations, presentations and contexts in Japanese cuisine.
Hanbāgā (ハンバーガー) is a Western-style hamburger sandwich. Basically a burger in a bun à la McDonald’s, Burger King etc.
While hanbāgu (ハンバーグ) is a Japanese-style hamburger steak, similar to a Salisbury steak, made from ground beef and pork, served on a plate with demi-glace sauce and side dishes such as vegetables. Pleasingly for British people, it often comes with a jacket potato!
If your Japanese friend invites you out for ‘hanbāgu’, expect a sit-down meal not grabbing a bite in a fast food restaurant!
So, what started out as a gripe about a minor annoyance has become an interesting delve into Japanese cuisine, the Japanese appropriation of Western style food and a glimpse into how the Japanese language works!
Whether in Japan or not, I hope you will try all the foods I have mentioned, prepared in real Japanese style, and give the poorly thought out imitators a miss – at least until you have tried the real thing.
Katsu curry and Japanese curry plates at Hatsukoi
