[Updated 25 May 2021]
While we can’t visit Japan anytime soon, we can definitely still enjoy halal Japanese food by cooking it right at home! There are a number of iconic Japanese dishes that can be easily recreated in your own kitchen. We’re sharing five recipes that were graciously contributed to us by Japanese-Muslims living in Singapore, so you know you’re getting tried-and-tested recipes that are deliciously authentic ?
Credit: Sadia
P.S. Making these Japanese dishes will be a breeze using Sadia’s wide range of halal-certified frozen products! Featuring farm-to-table fresh chicken (from raw chicken cubes and shabu-shabu to fully-cooked chicken cutlets and more), you’ll always have safe, quality ingredients on-hand to conveniently prepare these scrumptious meals at home, no matter your level of skill in the kitchen ? Sadia will be launching brand new packaging (as pictured above) for their products soon - keep an eye out for it in the next few months!
1. Chicken Katsu
Chicken katsu is a popular dish where a chicken fillet is dredged in egg and Japanese bread crumbs (called panko) before being deep-fried to golden perfection. Often served with katsu sauce (a sweet yet savoury sauce that’s a popular Japanese condiment), it makes for a satisfyingly hearty meal!
P.S. If you’re planning to make this meal, get Sadia’s One by One Chicken Breast (Skinless) that comes with each piece individually frozen for easy defrosting and optimum freshness!
Chicken Katsu recipe
By Chiaki
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 4 chicken breast fillets (use Sadia’s One by One Chicken Breast (Skinless))
- Handful of panko (note: you can find this in supermarkets, usually near the condiments section)
- Handful of all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 20ml milk
- Oil, enough for frying
- Pinch of salt and pepper, and additional spices you prefer (Chiaki likes using a Mexican spice mix!)
Directions
- Flatten the chicken (cover with cling wrap and pound it flat) or make cuts across the chicken breasts or fillets if they are thick (see the picture below).
Credit: Chiaki
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper (you can add any other spices of your choice if you prefer).
- In 3 separate bowls, prepare the following:
- Bowl 1: Flour
- Bowl 2: Egg and milk mixture
- Bowl 3: Panko
- Start coating the chicken pieces in the following order: flour, then egg and milk mixture, then finally panko.
- Deep fry in oil until golden brown.
#HHWT Tip: Not in the mood to make your cutlets from scratch?Get Sadia’s Breaded Chicken Cutlet or Chicken Tenders with Roast Garlic Sauce instead! As it comes already fully-cooked, all you need to do is air-fry or bake the chicken cutlet straight from the freezer to re-heat them ?
2. Oyakodon
For many Japanese households, oyakodon is a staple menu item. This rice bowl dish is not only super delicious and comforting to eat but also easy to make! Comprising rice that’s topped with egg and chicken cooked in a sweet and savoury broth, this cosy dish is always a hit with kids, but will be sure to please any adult too!
Chicken Oyakodon recipe
By Chiaki
Ingredients (Serves 4)
Note: For some of the ingredients (such as dashi powder, shoyu and mirin), we’ve listed where you can find halal versions of these ingredients under the tips section at the end of the article!
- Rice (preferably Japanese rice, enough for 4 people)
- 3 - 4 chicken breasts, fillet or thighs (or use Sadia’s Chicken Shabu-shabu that conveniently comes in thin slices so you’ll save on prep time in the kitchen!)
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 500ml water
- 2 Tsp Japanese dashi powder
- 3 Tbsp Japanese shoyu
- 2 Tsp halal mirin or sugar
- Optional: Mushrooms (Chiaki likes to add Shiitake or Shimeji mushrooms, sliced or separated into individual pieces respectively)
- Sliced spring onions for garnishing
Directions
- Wash and cook the rice in your rice cooker.
- Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces (alternatively, skip this step by simply using Sadia’s Chicken Shabu-shabu that conveniently comes in thin slices!)
- Heat the water in a pot. Use a pot with a lid as you will need to cover the pot later.
- Once the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken and dashi powder.
- Once the chicken is half-cooked, add in onions and mushrooms.
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
- When onions and mushrooms have softened, add soy sauce and sugar. Do a taste test once the chicken is fully cooked. It should neither be too salty nor too sweet - adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- Bring the pot back to a boil, then slowly pour in the egg.
- Switch off the heat before the egg is completely cooked and place a lid on the pot. The residual heat will continue cooking the eggs until it sets.
- Scoop out some rice into a deep bowl, add the cooked chicken and egg on top of the rice. Add extra soup from the pot if you prefer (like Chiaki does!).
- Garnish with spring onions.
3. Japanese chicken curry
Credit: Akane Najwa Nakahara
Missing the flavours of CoCo Ichibanya (a famous curry house in Japan)? Fill that void by enjoying your own bowl of Japanese chicken curry! It’s easy to make thanks to Japanese curry cubes that dissolve in hot water to form your delicious curry.
#HHWT Tip: You can find halal Japanese curry cubes online, such as the one made by the Indonesian brand House!
Japanese curry chicken recipe
By Akane Najwa Nakahara
Ingredients
- 300g of chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces (use Sadia’s Stir Fry Chicken that comes pre-cut and ready to be used!)
- 2 - 3 Japanese curry cubes (note: we’ve listed where you can find halal Japanese curry cubes under the tips section at the end of the article!)
- 600ml water
- 1 tbsp vegetable cooking oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 potato, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped (Note: other vegetables can be used too such as mushrooms sweet potato, pumpkin, etc.)
- 3 - 4 garlic cloves
- Optional ingredients: Soy sauce / cheese / honey
Directions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion and saute.
- Add the chicken and chopped veggies.
- Add the water into the pot and cook for 20 mins.
- Add the Japanese curry cubes and cook for another 20 mins
- If using, add optional soy sauce or honey to your liking.
- Serve with cooked rice (if using cheese, add it over the top of the curry)
#HHWT Tip: Looking for an easy and delicious shortcut to make this dish? Use Sadia’s Breaded Chicken Cutlet instead and have Japanese Katsu Curry! ? Just make the curry per the recipe, heat up the fully-cooked breaded cutlets, then pour your curry sauce over the cutlet and enjoy.
4. Chicken karaage
Credit: Akane Najwa Nakahara
It’s time for some more deep-fried chicken goodness! These bite-sized morsels are marinated in a flavourful soy sauce before being coated in starch and deep-fried. Using Sadia’s chicken cubes will save on prep time and make it even easier to prepare. Don’t forget some Kewpie mayonnaise alongside to dip them in!
Chicken karaage recipe
By Akane Najwa Nakahara
Ingredients
- 300g cubed chicken thigh (use Sadia’s chicken cubes that already come conveniently cubed for you!)
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 cups vegetable Cooking Oil
For the chicken marinade:
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp halal mirin or honey
- 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 tbsp minced/grated garlic
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of white pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Directions
- Prepare one clean plastic or Ziplock bag.
- Put the cubed chicken into the bag with all the chicken marinade ingredients, massage the bag so the chicken is well-coated with the sauce.
- Leave the chicken for 20 mins in the fridge - take it out halfway (after 10 minutes) to massage the bag again before leaving it in the fridge for another 10 minutes.
- Take out the marinated chicken meat and transfer to a bowl.
- Add the corn starch and mix so the chicken is coated.
- Heat the vegetable oil in the pan (around 160-170 degrees Celsius) and deep fry the chicken for 3-4 mins until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken and drain the excess oil. If you like your chicken super crispy, you can deep fry them again for 1-2 minutes, then drain as before.
- Serve on the plate with a lemon wedge to squeeze over or mayonnaise with a sprinkle of chilli flakes.
5. Chicken gyoza
Credit: Chiaki
Last but not least is gyoza, the Japanese variation of dumplings which are usually filled with meat, vegetables or seafood. Gyoza is usually pan-fried and steamed, resulting in a crispy skin yet soft juicy interior that’s delectable ? They need a little more effort compared to the rest of the recipes, but it’ll be so worth it!
#HHWT Tip: You’ll need to get ready-made gyoza skin for this recipe - you can find frozen gyoza skin available at supermarkets. Alternatively, you can even make your own at home using just flour, water and salt! Check out this recipe over at Aline Made on how to make them.
Chicken Gyoza Recipe
By Chiaki
Ingredients (Makes 30 Gyoza)
- Gyoza skin (thawed)
- A small bowl of water (used when wrapping)
- 50ml Water (to add to the pan when cooking)
- 250g minced chicken (keep Sadia’s Minced Chicken in your freezer for this recipe!)
- ¼ small onion
- 1 bunch baby bok choy
- To taste: salt, white pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-inch ginger
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
For the dipping sauce:
- Soy Sauce
- Vinegar
- Chilli oil
Directions
- Finely chop bok choy and onions. Grate garlic and ginger.
- Mix minced chicken, bok choy, onions, garlic and ginger in a bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the same bowl and mix well.
- Time to start wrapping! Wet the edges of half of the Gyoza skin. Place about a tea-spoonful of gyoza mix in the centre of the skin. Fold and wrap the edges (see pictures below)
- Heat a large frying pan and add sesame oil. Use a frying pan that can be covered with a lid for steaming later.
- Once the frying pan is hot, start placing the gyoza (see picture below). Cook the gyoza until the bottom starts to get crispy.
- Add about 50ml of water and place a lid on the frying pan to fry and steam at the same time.
- The gyoza is cooked once the skin has become translucent.
Notes:
Minced chicken can be replaced with minced prawns. Similarly, bok choy can also be replaced with Chinese cabbage/cabbage. You can use spring onions or chives instead of onions as well. Be creative with what you have in your fridge!
A note on common Japanese ingredients and some helpful tips
Many Japanese dishes traditionally use certain ingredients that may contain alcohol, such as mirin, sake, shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) or certain kinds of vinegar. Our contributors shared some tips on must-have ingredients for halal Japanese cooking, including some substitutions:
- Mirin: Nowadays you can find halal-certified mirin-style seasoning made by the brand Hinode available online (including on Lazada and Shopee). It’s different from the regular mirin also sold by Hinode that you can usually find in supermarkets! If you can’t get your hands on it, you can also use honey or date sauce as a substitute for mirin.
- Shoyu: There are few different brands that offer halal-certified shoyu you can find online, or you can use light soy sauce as a substitute.
- Dashi: Dashi is a Japanese soup stock used in many Japanese dishes that’s made with ingredients such as dried bonito flakes or dried kombu (dried kelp). Dashi powder is a common pantry item that home-cooks use to conveniently whip up dashi stock. You can find halal-certified dashi powder available online (such as this one on Shopee).
- Japanese curry cubes: Used to make Japanese curry dishes, these cubes are made of compacted Japanese curry paste which is dissolved in water when cooking to make a curry. You can find halal-certified curry cubes by the brand House online.
- Kewpie mayonnaise sauce: A must-have condiment in any Japanese household! You can easily find Kewpie mayonnaise (which is halal-certified) in most supermarkets.
#HHWT Tip: Check out online shops like Zairyo, EAMart, Lazada and Shopee to find the items mentioned above!
Japanese cuisine is wonderfully delicious, and with these recipes, you won’t have to go all the way to Japan to have a taste! Special thanks to Soeda Keiko, Chiaki, Akane Najwa Nakahara and Hannah Shiogai Shomi for graciously sharing the recipes with us and for providing helpful tips for cooking halal Japanese dishes at home ?
This article was brought to you by Sadia.