Tonkatsu
Photo: yoppy from Tonkatsu Restaurant Houraitei in Shibuya, Tokyo, CC BY 2.0
Tonkatsu is a Japanese pork cutlet pounded thin, coated in panko and fried until the crust turns deep golden and crunchy. Pounding the loin to about ¼ inch means it cooks through in just a few minutes, so the meat stays tender while the crumbs brown. The quick sauce of soy, sugar, Worcestershire and ketchup needs no cooking. Slice it over rice with shredded cabbage, or use leftovers for katsudon or curry.
Instructions
Stir the soy sauce, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup together with a fork until the mixture is smooth and even. If you want a thicker sauce, chill it for half an hour.
Put the pork cutlets in an open ziplock bag to keep splatter down, then pound them with a meat mallet until they are about ¼ inch (a little more than 0.5 cm) thick.
Season both sides of each pounded cutlet with the salt and pepper.
Set out three shallow bowls, one each for the beaten egg, the flour and the panko.
Dredge each cutlet in the flour, then dip it in the egg, then press it into the crumbs. Make sure every surface is fully coated at each stage.
Pour oil into a frying pan to a depth of about ½ inch (1.25 cm) and heat it. Drop in a few crumbs to test it: when they float and sizzle, the oil is ready.
Fry the cutlets for a few minutes on each side, until they are deep golden brown.
Cut the cooked pork into strips with a sharp knife. Serve with the sauce, Japanese short grain rice and thinly shredded cabbage.
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