
Air fryer fish katsu
Panko-crusted white fish air fried until shatteringly crisp, with sweet and tangy katsu sauce, crunchy cabbage and rice.
- 40 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.91 a serving
- 630 calories
- Dairy-free

Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- ¾ cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 12 oz frozen white fish fillets, thawed
- 2 cups green cabbage, very thinly sliced
- ½ lemon, cut into wedges
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 630 calories, 39 g protein, 91 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $2.91 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No green cabbage? Red cabbage or coleslaw mix works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice and water in a small and over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and sugar together to make the katsu sauce.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the panko with the oil in a shallow bowl. Put the flour in a second bowl and the beaten egg in a third.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the fish dry and with the salt. Coat each piece in flour, dip it in egg, then press it firmly into the panko.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Dolly’s tip: Press hard. A tight coat stays on in the basket.the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes, then air fry the fish in one layer for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway, until deep and it flakes inside.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 11 min
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
the katsu and serve it over rice with the cabbage and lemon wedges, with the sauce over.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.

Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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