Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear. Cook according to the rice type used. For Japanese rice, after rinsing, let it soak in fresh water for 20–30 minutes before cooking if time allows. Cook, then rest covered for 10 minutes and fluff gently. The rice should be fully cooked and fluffy, not wet or mushy. Since the curry is very saucy, overly soft rice will collapse on the plate. That thorough resting period after cooking is what makes the finished rice easy to fluff into distinct, sturdy grains capable of actually holding their own shape beneath a generous ladle of curry.

Heat the oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Cook slowly for 12–15 minutes, stirring often, until softened and beginning to take on light golden color. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30–60 seconds. Add the grated apple and cook for 2 minutes more. The onions should be well softened and lightly sweet, not raw. This is what gives the curry body and mellow flavor. That genuinely patient, slow cooking is what actually breaks the onions down into real sweetness — vegetables rushed through this stage would carry a raw, sharp edge straight into the finished sauce.

Push the vegetables to the side if needed and add the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the curry powder and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Gradually add the stock in several additions, stirring well after each one so no lumps form. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, honey or sugar, and bay leaf if using. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook gently for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick, glossy, and smooth. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. The curry should be thick enough to coat a spoon and pool slowly on the plate. If too thin, simmer longer. If too thick, loosen with a little extra stock or water. Adding the stock gradually, in several additions rather than all at once, is what lets the roux's own starch hydrate smoothly at each step, protecting the finished sauce from turning lumpy.

While the curry simmers, pat the pork dry. If there is a fat strip on the edge, make a few small cuts through it to prevent curling during frying. Pound lightly if needed so the cutlets are evenly thick, around 1.5cm. Season both sides with salt and black pepper. Even thickness matters. Thin spots overcook before the thicker center is ready. That deliberate, even thickness is what lets the whole cutlet reach the same doneness together, rather than the thinner edges drying out while a thicker centre lags behind.

Set up three bowls: flour; beaten eggs; panko breadcrumbs. Dredge each cutlet in flour, shaking off excess. Dip into egg, then press firmly into panko so the crumbs adhere well on all sides. Set the breaded cutlets on a tray and let them rest for 10–15 minutes before frying. Resting the breaded pork helps the coating adhere better and reduces blow-off in the oil. That brief resting period lets the egg wash begin genuinely binding the breadcrumb coating to the cutlet beneath it, before the whole piece faces the sudden shock of hot oil.

Heat neutral oil to 170–175°C. Fry the cutlets, one or two at a time depending on pan size, for about 3–4 minutes per side, until deeply golden and crisp and the internal temperature reaches about 63–65°C. Transfer to a rack or paper-lined tray and rest for 3–5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan or the oil temperature will drop and the crust will absorb oil. The coating should fry crisp and dry, not greasy. Maintaining that specific, steady oil temperature protects the katsu from both directions at once — too cool lets the coating soak up excess oil before it ever crisps, while too hot darkens the crust well before the pork's own centre has finished cooking through.

Remove the bay leaf. If you want a smoother restaurant-style curry, blend partially or fully, then return to the pan. Otherwise leave it slightly textured. Hold warm over very low heat. The curry often tastes even better after a short hold. A 5–10 minute rest on low heat helps the flavors round out. That brief holding period gives the sauce's own many components — vegetables, roux, seasonings — genuine additional time to meld together into one cohesive flavour rather than reading as separate, distinct notes.

Slice each katsu into thick strips. Plate each serving with about 75g uncooked-rice equivalent, cooked, 1 sliced pork katsu cutlet, and a generous ladle of curry sauce pooled beside and partly over the katsu. Serve immediately while the katsu is still crisp. Ladle the curry mainly to one side so part of the crust stays exposed and crunchy, as in classic katsu curry plating. That deliberate placement, covering only part of the cutlet, is exactly what protects at least a portion of the katsu's own hard-earned crispness from softening under the curry's own moisture before it's even served.