Katsudon (豬排丼)

I noticed that I don't have much Asian recipes on here despite being asian myself, so here's a recipe for Japanese Katsudon that I got from my friend, Irene. Since JLo and I do most of our cooking in the 2nd floor kitchen of our dorm, we often bump into Irene and my brother during dinner hours. And 9 out of 10 times, they're ALWAYS making Katsudon!! I'm not kidding, their katsudon-eating frequency is about 2x a week! Hahaha, i guess it's so good that they can't get sick of it :D So after numerous katsudon requests from JLo, i gathered up what i could remember from Irene's instructions and tried it myself. Deep-frying the pork cultlets can be quite a hassle but it's all downhill once they're ready to go. The katsudon sauce recipe couldn't be more simple, and yet the taste went perfectly with a bowl of rice. After meddling in so many complicated western dishes these days, i seem to have forgotten how simple and gratifying Asian cooking can be. I really need to get back to my roots and come up with more Taiwanese/Asian food!

Katsudon (豬排丼)
from Irene, tokyocube & 小小米桶的寫食廚房
INGREDIENTS:

• TONKATSU (Deep-fried Pork Cutlet):
• 4 slices pork loin (about 1 inch thick, 100g each)
• Salt & pepper
• Garlic powder
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dusting
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs (or normal breadcrumbs)
• Oil for deep-frying
  
  
• KATSUDON & SAUCE :
  **Ingredients below are measured perfectly for ONE serving (one bowl of rice)**
  
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine (i used vodka)
• 1 tablespoon mirin (optional)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/3 cup (70mL) chicken/vegetable stock or water
• 1/3 cup thinly-sliced onions
• 1 egg, slightly beaten (to get more colors, better presentation)
  
• Spring onions, cut into strips
  
• 1 bowl of rice, cooked

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut small incisions into the surface and sides of the Pork just to tenderise the meat, particularly in the muscle and fat areas, to help make the meat a little softer. [picture 1, 2].
   
2. Once the meat is tenderised, sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder onto both sides [picture 3].
3. Add the plain flour to both sides of the meat and place directly into the bowl containing mixed raw egg. After thoroughly soaking the meat with the raw egg, coat the bread crumbs all over the meat [picture 4, 5].
4. Carefully submerge the meat in a saucepan of oil, first heating each side for 2 minutes at 150 degrees. Then, increase the heat to 180 degrees and continue heating for a further 1 minute [picture 6].
5. Once the meat is cooked through, remove and drain well on paper towels. Cut into bite-sized strips [picture 7]. Set aside.
   
   
6. Add soy sauce, cooking wine, mirin (optional), sugar, stock/water, and sliced onions into a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and let it simmer for a few minutes [picture 8]. [The sauce will reduce over high heat so you may add a little water and taste to your liking].
   
7. Carefully place 1 Tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) over the sauce and onions. Pour the slightly beaten egg over the tonkatsu and sauce and sprinkle a few strips of spring onions on top [picture 9].
8. Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook until the egg is nearly set [picture 10].
   
9. Remove from heat and slide everything onto your bowl of rice. Serve immediately [picture 11, 12].
   

Katsudon (豬排丼)