Katsu on a mixed plate in Honolulu is a fried cutlet, a mountain of shredded cabbage, and a dark sweet sauce. The problem is the panko and the bottle of Bull-Dog. I still want the crunch and I still want cabbage. I do not want the wheat. Crushed pork rinds and an egg wash get you a crust that actually fries. The sauce is tomato paste, shoyu, Worcestershire, and vinegar — thinner and less sweet than Zippy’s. That is on purpose.
This is not “keto chicken tenders.” It is a cutlet on cabbage with chili pepper water, the way I eat a mixed plate at home.
Yield: 4 servings | Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 20 minutes | Total: about 40 minutes
Hawaii Grocery Notes
- Costco: boneless skinless chicken thighs (the big tray). Pork rinds when 4505 is in stock — grab two bags. Avocado oil. Eggs.
- Foodland / Times: cabbage (cheap, always), tomato paste, Worcestershire, shoyu, rice vinegar, garlic. Hawaiian chili peppers when you see them.
- Don Quijote: panko aisle you walk past. Shoyu, Worcestershire, chili peppers, cabbage. Kewpie if you want a little on the cabbage, not in the crust.
- Skip bottled tonkatsu sauce (Bull-Dog and the store brands). Sugar is the first or second ingredient. Skip sweet chili sauce on the side too.
Ingredients
Cutlets
- 1½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 6–8 thighs)
- 2 oz pork rinds (about 2 cups once crushed)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Avocado oil or tallow, enough for a shallow fry (about ½ cup in a 10-inch skillet)
Sauce (not Bull-Dog)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon shoyu
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- Optional: ½ teaspoon monk fruit or allulose if you miss the Zippy’s sweetness. I usually skip it.
Plate
- ½ small head green cabbage, shredded fine
- Chili pepper water: 4–6 Hawaiian chili peppers (or 1 small red chili), 1 clove garlic, ½ cup white vinegar, pinch of salt
- Lemon wedges, optional
Instructions
- Crush the pork rinds. A zip bag and a rolling pin, or a few pulses in a processor. You want crumbs the size of coarse panko, not powder. Powder turns gummy.
- Pat the thighs dry. If a thigh is very thick, butterfly it so it cooks through before the crust burns. Season both sides with salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Put the pork-rind crumbs in another. Dip each thigh in egg, then crumbs, pressing so the crust sticks. Set them on a plate. If the crust looks thin, a second dip is fine.
- Make the sauce: stir tomato paste, Worcestershire, shoyu, vinegar, and water in a small saucepan over low heat until it loosens, 2–3 minutes. Taste. Add the optional sweetener only if you want it. Keep it pourable, not sticky-sweet.
- Chili pepper water, if you do not already have a jar: smash the peppers and garlic with salt, cover with vinegar, and let it sit while you fry. It is ready enough for the table today and better tomorrow.
- Heat a generous film of oil in a skillet over medium. It should shimmer, not smoke. Fry the cutlets 3–5 minutes per side until the crust is deep gold and the chicken is cooked through. Do not crowd the pan. Drain on a rack or paper towels.
- Slice the katsu. Pile the cabbage. Spoon a little sauce on the meat, not a puddle on the cabbage. Chili pepper water on the side. Eat it like a mixed plate, not like tenders with ranch.
Kitchen-Estimate Macros (per serving)
Kitchen estimates only, not lab-tested. Calculated for 1 of 4 servings (about 6 oz chicken plus crust and 1–2 tablespoons sauce). Cabbage is extra, roughly 2 g net per cup shredded. Oil absorption varies with how hot your pan is.
| Calories | Fat | Protein | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~480 | ~32 g | ~42 g | ~4 g |
Notes
- Hidden sugar / starch: panko is wheat. Bull-Dog and most “katsu sauces” are sugar first. Furikake on the cabbage is often sugary too — read the label or skip it. Restaurant katsu is a mixed-plate protein sitting next to two scoops of rice; the rice is the other problem.
- Pork rinds at Costco (4505) disappear for weeks. If the bag is gone, almond flour is a backup crust, but it browns faster and tastes like almond flour. I would rather wait for rinds.
- Bake at 425°F on a rack for 18–22 minutes if you do not want to fry. The crust is drier. Still better than no katsu.
- Leftover slices are good cold the next day, or reheated in a skillet so the crust comes back. Microwave turns them sad.
- This is the protein I swap onto a weeknight mixed plate when I am tired of rotisserie chicken.
