Sweet Potato & Aubergine Katsu is a great Japanese-style curry with thinly sliced vegetables cooked in breadcrumbs with a Japanese curry sauce. Japanese curry sauces are creamy and milder than a lot of curries and the flavour is quite distinctive.
Serves 3-4
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices
1 medium aubergine, thinly sliced
For the sauce
1 tsp groundnut oil
1 tsp Go Spice Kiso mix
2 tsp cornflour or rice flour
1 tbsp soy sauce
150ml water
1½ tbsp cream
½ tsp clear honey
For the breadcrumb coating
50g plain flour & a pinch of salt (optional) on a plate
80g white bread, gently grind pieces of bread into crumbs and leave to dry on a large plate (or use ready-made panko breadcrumbs)
1 small egg, beaten
Oil for shallow frying
Cook the sweet potatoes in boiling water until soft, but not so soft that they will break up. Leave to cool.
Make the sauce. Warm the oil in a saucepan. Add the Go Spice Kiso spice mix and stir for about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour, making sure there are no lumps. Add the soy sauce and stir in well. Add the water and stir in, then return the pan to the heat and gently simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add the cream and the honey and stir in. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add some oil to a frying and warm.
Take each slice of sweet potato and aubergine and, always in this order, dip each one into the flour and coat evenly, then dip it into the beaten egg, and then dunk into the breadcrumbs, making sure the pieces are evenly coated all over. Fry gently in the oil for a minute or two, turning over, until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and drain them on kitchen towel to remove any excess oil. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce, check the seasoning, adding more Go Spice Kiso spice mix, salt or honey if required. Add more flour to thicken if necessary, or a little water or cream if too thick. Serve the sauce with the vegetables straight away.
