Air Fryer Chicken Katsu Sandwiches

Thanks to my mom’s addiction to buying cooking equipment, our kitchen is now endowed with a brand new air fryer. Armed with freshly baked milk bread, I decided it was an opportune time to try out Bon Appetit’s recipe for spicy chicken katsu sandwiches like the BA trash stan I am.

Along with that, I also wanted to try making a more classic Japanese version with tonkatsu sauce, so I found a delicious sauce recipe (roasted garlic tonkatsu sauce?!) on Just One Cookbook’s blog. I paired it with regular mild chicken katsu cutlets instead of Bon Appetit’s spicy ones.

Pstt by the way *shameless plug* if you want to see the process, scroll and watch my highlight @pokethedough

I followed every step of BA’s recipe, except the classic oil fry. I put two thighs at a time in the air fryer. I set the temperature to 375F and the time to 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, I opened the air fryer and flipped the cutlets. Then, I set the temperature to 400F and cooked it for another 5 minutes. No oil needed. Air fryers are flippin’ amazing. The cutlets won’t ever brown as well as an oil fry, but they’re just as crispy! YRMV, but it’s easy to stop the air fryer and check your progress. Don’t look for an all-over browning, instead check the texture of the breading. The finished result should be slightly browned, but very crispy.

Click the links below for the bread, chicken, and sauce recipes!

Hokkaido Milk Bread: https://pokethedough.com/2019/08/23/hokkaido-milk-bread-shokupan-2-different-methods/

Bon Appetit’s Spicy Chicken Katsu Sandwiches: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spicy-chicken-katsu-sandwiches

Just One Cookbook’s Garlic Tonkatsu Sauce: https://www.justonecookbook.com/crispy-chicken-sandwich/

The garlic tonkatsu sauce requires a tonkatsu sauce base, which can be bought or homemade. This is the link to make homemade tonkatsu sauce: https://www.justonecookbook.com/tonkatsu-sauce-recipe/