Tonkatsu

My love for Japanese dishes stemmed from this lady from Cooking with Dog. I know I’ve raved about her before but seriously, her videos are addictive!

Growing up in Kuching, we didn’t really have that many Japanese eateries, I’m talking bout say 20 years ago…and mind that is like early 1990’s and not the 1980’s anymore. Ever had that feeling that when you say 10 or 20 years ago, you’d automatically think the 1980’s? 🙂 Anyways, the only memory I have of eating in a Japanese restaurant was this place opposite the Civic centre with my Dad. I had some fried thingy with rice and miso soup. At that time I didn’t know it was miso soup. I was probably just 9 or 10 then. Didn’t touch anymore Japanese food till I came to KL and the first Japanese dish I tried out was teppanyaki. I loved it all, from there…eased my way to sushi and other stuff.

I can’t remember how I stumbled on Cooking with Dog, I probably did some random search on YouTube and typed ‘Japanese food’ and these videos came out, a grey poodle, a sweet lady chef and a narrator for the dog. But I never looked back. She is an AWESOME cook and makes Japanese dishes look so homely and delicious.

I love most of the fried dishes in Japanese cuisine. When I made a full-fledged Japanese meal once, the dish in focus was tonkatsu or deep-fried pork. You can pair tonkatsu with many other cooking methods but the basic one is sooo good for a quick meal.

I squirted some Japanese mayo on top of the tonkatsu, and here I can hear a chorus of true-blue Japanese shouting ‘Iye!!!!! (NO!)’ Japanese mayo is an unusual choice for tonkatsu but I love it with fried stuff.

This video below shows how the Cooking with Dog lady uses tonkatsu to make it into a katsudon, a one-bowl rice dish. This taste just as good and I did a version using chicken.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klFyrnrUSck&w=590&h=385]

TONKATSU RECIPE

Ingredients;

Pork chops or steaks
AP Flour
1 egg, beaten
Panko breadcrumbs
Salt
White Pepper
Oil for frying

Steps;

1. If you’re using chops, cut some slits on the fatty parts so it’ll cook though. Place the pork chops or steaks in a bag. Pound it so it becomes thinner but not too flat.
2. Season with salt and white pepper on both sides.
3. Prepare breading station. Coat the chops first in flour. Shake off excess.
4. Coat it completely in the beaten egg next and then the breadcrumbs.
5. Make sure your oil is in frying temp. Slide your coated chops slowly into the hot oil. Fry both sides till it’s crispy and golden.
6. Drain on a rack. Slice it into strips. Drizzle Japanese mayo or leave plain. Eat with tonkatsu sauce and some rice.

Enjoy!