$15 Fakeaway Friday: Make your own chicken katsu bowls with this time-saving hack

You can easily make your own chicken katsu bowls at home. Photo / Supplied

In 2022 it seems almost impossible to save money, buy good food and treat yourself all at the same time. Enter Fakeaway Fridays, the Herald’s new series where we create fake takeaway (fakeaway) meals that not only are delicious and nutritious but also come in under $15 and serve 2-4 people.

So instead of dropping $50 for a takeaway meal this Friday night, why not try a Fakeaway! It’s easier than you may think with our simple tips and tricks and partially-made products already hiding on your supermarket shelves.

I love a chicken katsu bowl, mainly because the veg and rice gives you the illusion of health under a layer of crispy chicken and lashings of mayo. But they’re getting more and more expensive at my local sushi shop - so I’ve figured out a few shortcuts to making them myself at home.

The “cheat” part of this meal includes chicken tenders from your supermarket freezer and quick cook rice. I’ve found the trick to perfectly crispy chicken is to pop them in the air fryer until golden. And cooking your rice in the microwave is a life saver - as someone who doesn’t own or have space for a rice cooker, it’s much easier to throw a packet for two in the microwave than slave over a boiling pot on the stove.

Honestly, the most time-consuming thing about this hack is slicing the vegetables, and you can do that any way you like - you can even replace the carrot and cucumber with a handful of pre-made coleslaw for that crunch. All you need to finish it off is the mouthwatering combo of mayo and tonkatsu sauce.

Cheat’s chicken katsu bowls

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken tenders - $3.90 ($7.80 for a pack of 8)

Microwave white long grain rice 250g packet - $2

1/2 telegraph cucumber - $1.10

1 large carrot - about 60c

Tonkatsu sauce - $3.19

Mayonnaise - $3.50

Total: $14.29

Method:

First, cook the chicken tenders. I pop them in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 200C but you can also oven bake for 10-15 minutes, turning once so they get crispy all over.

While the tenders are cooking, prepare the veg by slicing the carrot and cucumber into matchsticks.

Open the rice pouch and place upright in the microwave, cooking for a minute and a half.

When the chicken is cooked and crispy, slice the tenders on an angle into bite-sized pieces.

Divide the rice into two bowls, fluff with a fork, and top with chicken and veggies.

Drizzle generously with mayo and tonkatsu sauce and serve.

You can throw these bowls together in under 15 minutes. Photo / Supplied