Marinated chicken crumbed and fried, served with
Cover a chopping board with a piece of plastic wrap and lay your chicken thighs out on the wrap. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and gently pound the chicken thighs with a mallet or heavy pan until they are about 1cm thick.
In a bowl lightly beat the egg to combine the yolk and white, then stir in the milk. Stir in the garlic powder, ground ginger and soy sauce. Soak the chicken thighs in this mixture for 30 at least minutes or up to 4 hours.
Put the panko breadcrumbs into a shallow container. Take the chicken out of the egg mixture one at a time, allow the excess egg to drain off the chicken and place the chicken into the breadcrumbs, gently pressing down to make the crumbs stick. Crumb both sides of the chicken thigh then set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Carefully place the crumbed chicken thighs into the pan and season with salt and pepper.
Fry for 4-5 minutes until golden and crisp. Turn over, season again, and fry for a further 4-5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
To serve, slice the chicken thighs into 1cm slices. Spoon a serving of steamed rice onto a plate and top with the sliced chicken.
Drizzle on a generous amount of Tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayonnaise and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chives, if using.
I like to serve this meal with a simple salad, similar to those you get in Japanese restaurants. I simply stack shredded cabbage, finely sliced carrot, cucumber and sometimes mung-bean spouts into a small side bowl, and douse them with Toasted Sesame dressing.