Katsudon

Konichiwa! How about giving pork chops a twist by going Japanese!

Here is a Katsudon recipe enticing to be your in your lunch or dinner menu. It's a rice bowl with fried pork (tonkatsu) and egg mixture topping. To make katsudon apart from the need for a tonkatsu, the main ingredients in the egg topping is Mirin and Dashi. Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine and Dashi is a fish based stock. Both are not a staple in my kitchen cabinet right now but I don't think it should stop me from making it. Substitutes are still possible hence this dish. Arigato!


For the Tonkatsu 
Serves 2 to 4.


2 thick-cut pork chops, deboned. About 155 grams each. After pounding, these will yield 4 slices of meat
1 T. sesame oil
2 1/2 T. soysauce
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 C. flour
2 large eggs, beaten
panko bread crumbs
canola oil for frying


Directions

Slice porkchops into halfmoons in case the ones you have are butterfly cuts. 

Wrap the sliced pork chop with a plastic wrap and pound the pork flat with a mallet or a long pestle. The meat will widen after it is pounded. Slice the pounded meat into two.


Season the flattened pork with soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper. Dredge pork into flour first. Pat of excess flour. Dip into egg mixture and coat with bread crumbs.




Heat oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot enough fry the pork until golden brown. Slice into pieces.


For the Katsudon

Tonkatsu porkchops
Steamed white rice
4 T. soy sauce
2 T. Mirin ( I substituted vinegar)
21/2 T. sugar
1 cup dashi (I substituted knorr fish cube and water. Diluted based on packaging directions. Some people soak dried shitake and use this as their stock)
1 large onion, sliced thinly
4 large eggs, unbeaten but just stirred lightly where you still see the egg whites and eggyolks separately
Green onions for garnish

Directions: 

In a pan, combine soysauce, stock, sugar, vinegar. Bring to a boil and add the sliced onions. Cook until the onions are soft and transparent and the sauce has reduced for a bit. Add the eggs and when it it slightly cooked remove from heat.


Scoop steaming rice into bowls and top each with a sliced tonkatsu and pour over the onion mixture. Garnish with green onions.