Generally eaten as a main course, the dish can be accompanied with water or miso soup.

In Japan, the name refers exclusively to a dish of curry served with a cutlet.

However, in the UK, where the dish has become extremely popular in recent years, the name is sometimes erroneously applied to any type of Japanese curry.

The first theory is that Kawakin (河金), a yōshoku yatai in Asakusa, Tokyo, served it in 1918, and the second theory is that Ōroji (王ろじ), a yōshoku restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo, served it in 1921.

Yomiuri Giants player Shigeru Chiba, a frequent patron of the establishment, complained that it was too bothersome to eat curry and katsu separately, leading to the creation of the combination.