With the numbers of restaurants in Manila claiming to offer allegedly the best katsu in town, we cannot help but to fall in love with this dish of Japanese origin. While it is ideal to visit these restaurants to haunt the best katsu when bouts of cravings set in, sometimes, it is comforting to know that we can just whip up a great tasting katsu at the comfort of our own home in no time. That is why Bounty Fresh recently introduced its new product, Chicken Top Torikatsu.
This may come out of left field but I advocate cooking from scratch. Yet, when situation calls for it, I wouldn't mind the convenience of settling for instant food. As one of the leading chicken supplier in the Philippine market, Bounty Fresh came up with the great idea of marketing an instant chicken katsu especially made for people on the go.
Bounty Fresh Top Torikatsu is currently available in two flavors; Classic and Cheese & Chives. Each katsu is made of 100% chicken breast meat smothered with mayonnaise (classic) and cheese & chives, coated with breading. I do not usually like the word frozen on my meat but having tried Top Torikatsu recently, I realized that "freshly frozen" isn't bad at all.
A pack of 450g Top Torikatsu consist of six pieces medium size chicken breast. Since the meat was smothered with mayonnaise and/or cheese depending on the flavor, the breading has the tendency to fall of easily especially when it's out of the fridge for an extended period.
A step-by-step cooking guide is indicated at the back of the packaging. The instruction calls for 250ml of cooking oil in a frying fan wherein you're supposed to cook the katsu for 3 minutes in each side once the oil reaches cooking temperature in medium heat (170 to 180 degree Celsius).
I tried once to follow the instruction but it yields a soggy piece of katsu so instead, I cooked mine in a non-stick pan without oil in medium heat. Three minutes for each side is the ideal cooking time but if you want a crunchy coating for your katsu, you may exceed it up to four to five minutes.
The coating may tend to fall apart as you cook leaving the flavorings dripping on the pan. It is best to turn it just once to avoid the mess. There's also an instruction indicated if you prefer baking the katsu instead of frying it. I guess next time I will try that.
Between the two flavors, it was the cheese & chives that I enjoyed more. While the cheese suggest a subtle flavor, the distinct taste of the chives helped in balancing the flavor. The classic one which has mayonnaise on it was good, especially those who prefers simple flavor on their katsu.
The chicken meat, I found surprisingly moist and tender, not the usual thing I expect from when using chicken breast part in cooking. I guess the flavorings smothered on top before it was coated helped. While it is ideal to eat if with heaping bowl of rice, Top Torikatsu still tasted good even when eaten on its own.
I admit that I was surprised that I turned out liking this instant katsu from Bounty Fresh. Unlike other instant chicken products that I have tried, this is by far the best one ever to hit my kitchen and made me happy. Each bite is suggestive of fresh chicken meat used, something that one can expect only from the Asia's best chicken brand.
Bounty Fresh Top Torikatsu is available at SM Supermarket, S&R, Landmark Makati, Trinoma, Unimart, and Makati Supermarket. Each pack is priced at Php179, very affordable for something as good as this.
Bounty Fresh Top Torikatsu
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