tonkatsu |
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Tonkatsu is Japanese comfort food. Really this is barely a recipe. There is a little technique involved, striking a balance between cooking the pork enough so that you don't get salmonella, but keeping it still juicy. However, if you can make pancakes, you can make tonkatsu.
Remember the Bulldog sauce. Add plain rice, namasu, and a green salad--quick and easy dinner. And while you can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs, I prefer pork, unless you are making katsu curry.
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Pound the pork chops until they are about 1/4" thick. I find this to be my favorite part of the preparation, and it gets the pork to a uniform thin-ness so that it will cook fast and evenly. Slightly salt and pepper the chops on both sides
Heat a non-stick pan with enough oil to coat the bottom well. Make sure it is hot enough that the oil has sheeting action. Dredge the chops in flour or katakuriko. Dip in beaten egg/water mixture. Coat with panko.
Check the oil temperature by dropping in a few crumbs of panko. It it starts bubbling immediately, it's ready. Lay the tonkatsu down in the pan, but do not let them touch and leave enough space so that you can maneuver to flip them. I prefer to flip with chopsticks, but tongs work fine too.
Flip when the bottom side very golden brown (see photo above). This takes about 4-5 minutes. When both sides golden brown, drain on paper towels. The katsu will cook continue to cook internally for a few more minutes as long as you don't get over-anxious and slice it open.
Heat a non-stick pan with enough oil to coat the bottom well. Make sure it is hot enough that the oil has sheeting action. Dredge the chops in flour or katakuriko. Dip in beaten egg/water mixture. Coat with panko.
Check the oil temperature by dropping in a few crumbs of panko. It it starts bubbling immediately, it's ready. Lay the tonkatsu down in the pan, but do not let them touch and leave enough space so that you can maneuver to flip them. I prefer to flip with chopsticks, but tongs work fine too.
Flip when the bottom side very golden brown (see photo above). This takes about 4-5 minutes. When both sides golden brown, drain on paper towels. The katsu will cook continue to cook internally for a few more minutes as long as you don't get over-anxious and slice it open.
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Modifications for Katsu Curry
Katsu curry is a good "leftover plus" meal for leftover curry. In this case, I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Make the katsu as above, but do not add salt of pepper. The curry will more than flavor the katsu. Add hot rice to a bowl, spoon the curry over rice and top with sliced katsu. Drizzle a little bit of bulldog sauce and add the Japanese pickles of your choice. |
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