Kushikatsu (Osaka-Style Beef Skewers)

Name: Kushikatsu (Osaka-Style Beef Skewers)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: cake flour 50 g; cold water 60 g; salt 1 g; firm lean beef 60 g; fine breadcrumbs 80 g; oil for deep-frying 800 ml; 15cm bamboo skewers 4 pieces

Quick answer

Total time: 25 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

Thin beef on a bamboo skewer, dipped in light batter and fine panko and fried hot, makes up the Osaka street snack of the Shinsekai district.

One story traces it to the late Taisho and early Showa years, when laborers needed a cheap, fast meal and tough cuts were sliced thin and given a thick coat. At the counter, the shared sauce pot comes with one rule: dip once, never twice.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

15cm bamboo skewers4 pieces

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Soak 4 bamboo skewers, 15cm long, in cold water for 20 minutes to reduce scorching during frying, then pat dry.

Cut 60g firm lean beef across the grain into 4 equal pieces, each about 5mm thick and 15g.
2

Thread 1 beef piece lengthwise and straight onto each bamboo skewer to make four skewers.

Pat the meat surfaces dry. Do not reuse the board or tongs that touched raw beef for cooked skewers before washing them.
3

Combine 50g cake flour, 60g cold water, and 1g salt in a wide deep bowl and mix for only about 20 seconds, until almost no dry flour remains. Do not overmix the thin batter and make it tough.
4

Submerge each beef skewer completely in the batter, lift it, and scrape once against the bowl rim to remove excess.

Immediately roll in 80g fine breadcrumbs and press lightly with the palms to make a thin even coat on every side.
5

Heat 800ml frying oil to 180°C in a deep heavy pot.

Fry 2 skewers at a time without touching for 1 to 2 minutes, turning once, until the breadcrumbs are evenly browned.
6

Remove the skewers with clean tongs and stand them on a rack for 2 minutes.

Confirm the thickest beef center on the first skewer reaches at least 63°C; fry in 30-second increments if needed. Return the oil to 180°C, cook the remaining skewers the same way, and serve immediately.