Healthy Veggie Katsu Curry

This healthy veggie katsu curry boasts a delightful combination of creaminess, crispiness, and undeniable charm. In our version, we’ve expertly trimmed excess oil and omitted sugar while carefully managing salt content. Despite these adjustments, the katsu curry maintains a surprisingly decadent flavor profile.

Tailored to suit vegetarian, dairy-free, plant-based, and vegan diets, this healthy veggie katsu curry offers a delectable alternative. Additionally, for those following a gluten-free lifestyle, simply substitute all-purpose flour and panko with gluten-free alternatives to enjoy this flavorful dish.

A Healthier Twist on Katsu Curry

Katsu curry is unquestionably indulgent, with a serving of Wagamama’s version clocking in at around 1000 calories. Shockingly, according to Carb Manager, 40% of these calories come from fat, and the dish contains 60% of the daily recommended value for sodium. Traditionally, katsu curry tends to be heavy on the stomach and potentially detrimental to one’s health if not eaten in moderation. In our adaptation, we’ve taken steps to mitigate some of these concerns.

Let’s get baked!

Instead of deep-frying the katsu, a process that introduces excess fat and often unhealthy oils, we’ve opted for baking or air-frying to significantly reduce unnecessary oil content. Furthermore, the commonly used curry sauce blocks are notorious for being high in fat and sodium. To address this, we’ve replaced the curry sauce mix with S&B curry powder, which is an authentic Japanese curry powder,  preserving the rich flavor without the added drawbacks.

Rich without all the oil!

Creating a thick and creamy sauce without resorting to excessive oil or flour, we’ve blended a combination of vegetables, chickpeas, and hemp seed milk. This not only enhances the luscious consistency but also introduces nutritional elements to the sauce.

Sweet with no added sugar!

Japanese curry is renowned for its distinctive sweetness, usually achieved through caramelized onion and sugar. In our healthier version, we’ve eliminated the sugar and increased the quantity of caramelized onion and carrots in the sauce. This adjustment maintains the delightful sweetness while contributing additional nutritional value.

The result is a satisfying and wholesome veggie katsu curry that leaves you feeling full without the burden of excessive calories and unhealthy components.

Items Used

• S&B Curry Powder: Japanese curry powder is indispensable for crafting this curry, S&B curry powder stands out as the most popular and readily available. I discovered it at my local Asian market, but there are also convenient online ordering options, such as on Amazon.
• Panko Breadcrumbs: Panko breadcrumbs are essential to making katsu. Most grocers offer regular and gluten-free while health food stores sell a Panko made from more natural ingredients.
• Pickled Lotus Root & Butterfly Pea Petals: An optional side dish, lotus root is readily available in Asian markets. We added a touch of color by infusing some of the lotus roots with a purple hue through the addition of butterfly pea petals to the pickling liquid. For a recipe on how to pickle lotus root check this one out by Just One Cookbook -click here. 
• Duck & Fish Cookie Cutter: Utilizing the duck and fish cookie cutters from the Way to Celebrate 110-piece fun shapes plastic cookie cutter set added a playful element. It’s worth noting that these cookie cutters are of average size and are best suited for use with larger eggplants and squashes.
• Otter Rice Mold: Acquired from Amazon, this rice mold comes with additional molds for various shapes. However, the tool for cutting out the otter’s facial features proved to be dull and required manual cutting.

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Love our healthy veggie katsu curry? Did you make any modifications? Share your thoughts with a review! Your feedback helps us improve and inspires others to try our delicious, wholesome creation.

Healthy Veggie Katsu Curry

Recipe by Dakota Ovdan

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

Total time

2

hours 

30

minutes

Satisfying and wholesome, this healthy veggie katsu curry boasts a delightful combination of creaminess, crispiness, and undeniable charm.

Ingredients

• Curry:

• 3 cups vegetable broth 

• 1.5 tbsp S&B curry powder

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or neutral-tasting oil

• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

• 2 cups onion, chopped (1 medium onion)

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 cup potato, cubed (1 medium potato)

• 1 cup carrot, rounds (1 large carrot)

• Hemp seed milk (2 tbsp hemp seeds blended with 1/2 cup water)

• 1 can chickpeas (1 1/2 cups)

• Katsu:

• 1 eggplant

• 1 green or yellow squash

• 3/4 cup flour

• 1/2 cup aquafaba (liquid from one can of chickpeas)

• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs 

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• Salt & pepper

• Oil in a spray can/bottle

• 
  For serving (optional):

• Rice

• Fukujinzuke (Japanese Relish)

• Other pickled vegetables (we used lotus root pickled with butterfly pea petals and cucumber)

Directions

• Curry:
• Heat a large pan to medium-low, then add oil. Once the oil is hot, introduce the onion and half of the salt (1/4 tsp or to taste). 
• Cook onions till caramelized, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 minutes. At the halfway mark, add the garlic. 
• Turn up the heat to medium and add the curry powder. Toast for one minute. 
• Add the potato, carrots, chickpeas, broth, and remaining salt to the pan.
• Simmer covered till potatoes and carrots are tender, approximately 20 minutes. 
• Strain out half of the potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas then set aside. Once the curry cools, transfer to a high-speed blender with the hemp seed milk and blend until creamy. Then add the strained carrots and potatoes back to the sauce. 
• Katsu: 
• Slice the eggplant and the squash into 1/4-1/3 inch thick rounds or use cookie cutters to cut into fun shapes. 
• Lightly salt each side, then set in a colander to sweat for 30 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, prepare your breadcrumb dipping station. In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour. In a second medium-sized bowl, add the aquafaba. In a third medium-sized bowl, add panko, almond flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste then mix. 
• Pat the eggplant and squash dry and remove any excess salt. 
• Preheat the air-fryer or oven to 400F (204C).
• Dip each slice in the following order: flour, aquafaba, and the panko mixture.
• Spray each side of the breaded eggplant and squash with oil.
• If using an oven, bake eggplant and squash on a lined baking sheet for 20 minutes, flipping halfway. If using an air fryer, bake the squash for 10 minutes, flipping halfway. Then bake eggplant for 15 minutes, flipping halfway. 
• Serve:
• Serve with rice, fukujinzuke, or other pickled vegetables, if desired.

Notes

• When caramelizing onions if they begin to burn turn down the heat and add a splash of water.
• The curry gets its signature sweetness from the caramelized onion so please do not rush this step. 
• Option to cut veggies into fun shapes using small cookie cutters. 
• Otter rice mold can be found for sale on Amazon.
• Depending on how much the eggplant and squash were salted and your salt preference, you may need little to no additional salt in the panko breadcrumb mixture. 
• The breaded eggplant and squash are crispiest when eaten freshly after being cooked, to reheat bake at 400F (200C) for 5-7 minutes or in the air fryer at 400F(200C) for 3-5 minutes.