- 1 large onion, diced (approx. 2 cups)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp Garlic-Ginger Paste*
- 2 - 15 oz full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala, or to taste
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1 to 2 tbsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Note: This makes a fair bit of sauce. You can easily half the recipe or you can freeze half of the sauce for another time.
To prepare the sauce, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the oil, followed by the onions — as well as a good pinch of salt. Let the onions fry, stirring frequently, until they have a nice golden color, approximately 10 minutes or so.
Next, turn the heat down a bit and then add the Garlic-Ginger Paste and let cook for 30 seconds or so and then add the remaining ingredients. Whisk to combine the ingredients and let the sauce gently simmer for 15 minutes or so.
Note: Typically many Katsu curry sauces are made with a thickener such as flour but we have used coconut milk and here to naturally thicken the sauce — we also blend the sauce and the onions also act as a natural thickener. If the sauce seems a bit too thick or rich to you, you can easily add a bit of stock to thin it down. To blend the sauce, use a stick or hand blender (or a blender) and blend until smooth.
Lastly, taste the sauce for seasoning, adding a bit more garam masala, salt, soy, and/or maple syrup as desired.
- 1 - 350 gr pkg extra-firm tofu
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 tbsp cooking oil, such as peanut or avocado oil
To marinate the tofu, first, press out any excess water from the tofu and then slice as desired. For this particular recipe, we sliced the block of tofu lengthwise into about 1/2 inch pieces.
Next, add about 1/4 cup of the sauce to a container and place the tofu into the container and then pour another 1/4 cup of sauce over top of the tofu. Allow the tofu to marinate for 30 minutes or so — or even better, let the tofu marinate overnight.
Bread the tofu just before you are ready to serve the dish. To bread the tofu, simply mix the salt and cayenne into the breadcrumbs and then evenly coat the tofu in the panko mixture.
To pan-fry the tofu, heat a large frypan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a bit of oil (and/or use a non-stick pan), followed by the breaded tofu pieces. Fry the tofu on the first side for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it is nice and golden brown. Carefully flip the tofu and cook on the other side for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Once done, remove the tofu and set aside while you gather the rest of the ingredients for serving the dish.
- fresh cilantro
Serve the dish with some Fragrant Coconut Rice (or whichever rice you prefer) and some Cucumber Sunomono (we like to use both cucumbers and carrots for the pickled vegetables). If desired, garnish the dish with a bit of fresh cilantro and serve with hot sauce on the side.
Note that this dish is also great served with added vegetables to the curry sauce — you can find the recipe for it here Katsu Curry & Vegetables.