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Crispy Chicken Katsu Noodle Bowl. My family loves these bowls. Golden, crispy homemade chicken katsu with saucy rice noodles, fried edamame, and finished with our favorite spicy-sweet creamy mayo. It’s colorful, satisfying, and easy enough to pull together on a busy weeknight—you’ll be making these on repeat.
On nights when I’m feeding everyone—my brothers, my sister, my cousins, all of them—I almost always lean into an Asian-inspired dish. We love a spicy-salty combo, and my brother Red has told me more than once that he’ll eat anything served over rice. And a big bowl of steaming ramen? Always a favorite.
I first made a chicken katsu ramen over the holidays a few Christmases ago, and now it’s one of those recipes I come back to every year when we’re all together. There’s just something about that crispy chicken paired with noodles and broth, it’s pretty hard to beat.
With the warm weather in Austin and spring finally here, I wanted to switch things up and make a lighter version. Which is how these katsu noodle bowls came to be. They turned out so delicious!
I love to pan-fry the chicken until it’s perfectly crisp, then toss the noodles and sauce together in that same pan. It all comes together quickly, and you can really use any vegetables you love. I kept it simple with a bag of frozen edamame, which works perfectly.
Here are the details
Ingredients for the bowls
- tamari or soy sauce
- Japanese BBQ sauce
- honey
- chili crunch oil
- grated ginger
- chicken cutlets or boneless chicken breasts
- Panko bread crumbs
- sesame seeds
- frozen shelled edamame
- rice noodles – I like vermicelli or stir-fry rice noodles
- pickled ginger, green onion, and nori sheets, for serving
Spicy Mayo
- mayo
- sriracha
- Japanese BBQ sauce
- soy sauce or tamari
Special Tools
A skillet for pan frying the chicken and a few bowls for making the sauce! Very minimal.
The Steps
Step 1: Make the sauce
Start by mixing up the sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, Japanese barbecue sauce, a drizzle of honey, and fresh ginger. It’s that perfect salty-sweet combo. Pour a little over the chicken to lightly marinate—just enough to coat—and reserve the rest for the noodles. You’ll want every bit of that sauce.
Step 2: Bread and cook the chicken
Set up your breading. In a shallow bowl, combine the panko and sesame seeds. Press each piece of chicken firmly into the crumbs, really packing them on so you get that extra crispy coating.
Heat a generous layer of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until deeply golden and crisp on both sides, about a few minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest before slicing.
Step 3: Cook the noodles
In that same skillet (don’t wash it—there’s so much flavor in there), add the edamame and cook until warmed through. Add the noodles and pour over the reserved sauce. Toss everything together until the noodles are well coated and glossy. This part comes together quickly.
Step 4: Make the spicy mayo
In a small bowl, stir together the mayo and remaining ingredients until smooth. It’s creamy, a little spicy, and just slightly sweet—so good over the top.
Step 5: Assemble and serve
Slice the crispy chicken into strips. Divide the saucy noodles among bowls, then add the chicken on top. Finish with pickled ginger, green onions, and crumbled nori. Drizzle generously with the spicy mayo and serve.
Looking for other easy dinners? Here are some favorites:
Souper Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Rice
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Noodle Casserole
Easy Greek Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes
Lastly, if you make these Crispy Chicken Katsu Noodle Bowls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Chicken Katsu Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup tamari/soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Japanese barbecue sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chili crunch oil
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 4 chicken cutlets, or 2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
- 2 cups Panko
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1 bag frozen shelled edamame
- rice noodles, cooked, (I like Vermicelli or Stir Fry Rice Noodles)
- pickled ginger, green onions, and nori sheets – for serving
Spicy Mayo
- 1/3 cup kewpie mayo
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha/hot sauce
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Japanese BBQ sauce
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, Japanese barbecue sauce, honey, and ginger.2. Place the chicken in a bowl and pour over 2-3 tablespoons of the sauce; save the rest for serving. 3. Place the Panko and 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Dredge both sides of the chicken in the Panko, pressing to adhere by using your fist to pound the crumbs in. Place the chicken on a plate.4. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.5. Add the edamame to the skillet, cook until thawed. Add the noodles and the reserved sauce. Remove from the heat and toss the noodles in the sauce.6. To make the Spicy Mayo, combine all ingredients in a small bowl.7. To assemble, slice the chicken into thin strips. Add the saucy noodles to bowls, top with chicken, pickled ginger, green onions, and crumbled nori. Spoon over the spicy mayo.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made the recipe as is except marinated the chicken overnight. Had no problem with the breading, it stuck nicely to the chicken with instructions to press crumbs in. Came out nice and crispy. Sause was just right with flavor, did not find it too salty at all. Would definitely make again, thank you!
Hey there,
Amazing! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed!
So good. I served it with green beans and cream cheese wontons.
My only issue is the sauce isn’t as flavorful as I’d like, but I also have really high expectations for Half-Baked Harvest. I’d give it 4.5/5 stars.
Hey Noel! Thanks for letting me know about the sauce, but glad the recipe is still close to five stars haha! 🙂 xT
Was delicious! And, I had all the ingredients on hand except for the Kewpie mayo so I just used Hellman’s. Does it really make a difference? Also, when are you going to get a Half-Baked Harvest app? Would make it so easy.
Hey Teresa,
Happy Friday! Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
Regular mayo is perfectly okay to use, the kewpie mayo is just a bit creamier and made with rice vinegar to give it some tang.
Super yummy! My boys loved it.
Hey Lisa,
Happy Friday! Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
The sauce was soooo salty. Luckily I tasted it before pouring on the noodles. I remade it only adding 2 tablespoon of soy sauce and using more Japanese BBQ. Making the chicken as the recipe is written wasn’t great, there was barely any panko crust. The second batch I made I dredged mine in flour, then egg, then panko and that made a much nicer crispy crust.
Hi Lily,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your notes. Very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!
Which brand of Japanese barbecue sauce do you like?
Hey Krissy,
I love the Bachan brand. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Phenomenal recipe!! We love your other katsu bowl recipe as well, they are both so different but so dang delicious 🤤🤤 this one will be added to the top ten HBH recipes!!
Hey Hannah,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your thoughts—so happy it worked for you!
When do you use the chili crunch oil? It’s not mentioned in the recipe.
Hi Michelle,
I like to use the chili crunch oil for serving. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
I saw this recipe yesterday and actually had all of the ingredients on hand except the pickled ginger and nori so just left those out. I made one cutlet per the recipe directions and fried it up to test and I just didn’t love it, not enough panko stuck to the chicken, which was my fear when I read the recipe. So I quick googled traditional katsu recipes and I found most called for making a batter. For the rest I mixed egg and flour together to make a batter and coated the chicken and then dredged into panko which delivered a much crisper delicious crust! I would recommend this traditional method if you want a true crispy katsu. The sauce was tasty, maybe a little salty for me, next time I would use low sodium soy sauce.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Madison! Sorry to hear you had some issues with cooking the chicken!
I tried this recipe last night. The whole family loved it. I chose to add some steamed veggies on the side. The only thing I will change next time is to reduce the amount of soy sauce. It was a little too salty for my liking, but no one seemed to complain about it.
Thanks Tieghan
Hey Gretchen,
Perfect! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it!
Happy Tuesday!
“Oh my gosh, this is SOOOOOO good!” “Mom, can you make this again tomorrow?!” Reactions from my 15 and 13 year old kiddos. We LOVED this recipe! I’ve been making your recipes for over 3 years and this is the first review I’ve written (simply due to time constraints!😂) My first recipe was the summer nićoise salad and I haven’t stopped loving them all! This was easy to assemble, easy to find ingredients and deliciously crunchy. This will be in weeknight rotation! Thank you!
Aww, thank you so much, Marisa:) I am so glad to hear your family enjoyed this dish, I appreciate you making it and so many others!
Hi!
Can’t wait to try this! What is a good vegetable I could add to it?
xoxo
Thanks so much, Emily! I think broccoli or peppers would be delicious here.
Let me know if you give this dish a try!
This looks delicious! What kind of noodle did you use in the picture for this post?
Thanks so much, Deanna! I used brown rice noodles.
Let me know if you give this dish a try!
Hi! What’s the portion of noodles being used to make the three servings noted above? Thanks 🙂
Hey Aless! I use 8 ounces of rice noodles. Hope you enjoy the recipe! Have a great week!
I can’t get hold of Japanese BBQ sauce, what could I use instead?
Hi Sophie,
So sorry I’m not sure what you mean, I think you should be able to easily find the Japanese BBQ sauce:) Your local grocery store should carry a few varieties, if not, I would check Target or even order from Amazon.
Worst case scenario, you could probably find a homemade recipe! Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
Do you think that air frying the chicken would work?
Hey Salvatore,
Totally, I think air frying the chicken would work nicely for you.
Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this dish!