Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlets)

Tonkatsu is a typical Japanglish word - ton is pig or pork, and katsu derives from the word cutlet. Tonkatsu is one of the western-style Japanese dishes that can be classified as yohshoku. However, tonkatsu is so popular in Japan that there are even restaurants that only serve tonkatsu and similar items such as kushikatsu (bite-sized fried bits of pork and other things on a skewer).One of the key ingredients for tonkatsu, or any breaded deep-fried item in Japanese cooking, is panko. In recent years panko has been adopted by the trendy world of cuisine, but it's not anything special - it's just dried bread crumbs. The thing that makes panko unique is that the flakes are bigger and crunchier than the kind sold by non-Japanese food manufacturers.

Ingredients

1. 2 pork chops or cutlets, boned. You can use the chop part, or use the filet part, whichever you perfer
2. 1 egg, beaten
3. flour for dusting the cutlets
4. panko or dried bread crumbs
5. peanut oil for deep frying
6. salt and pepper

Directions

1. Trim the cutlets if necessary to get rid of any excess fat. Make small cuts all the way around the cutlet. This prevents it from shrinking and curling up when cooked.
2. Heat the oil to medium heat, about 160°C.
3. Lightly season the cutlets with salt and pepper. Dust the cutlets in flour, then dip in the beaten egg, coating the surface thoroughtly. Finally roll in the breadcrumbs.
4. Deep fry the cutlets in the oil, turning a couple of times, until golden brown. You can tell if it's done by poking it. If it feels firm, it's done. If it yields to pressure, then it's not done yet.
5. Drain thoroughly. Cut with a sharp knife into slices while still hot. Arrange on a plate with finely shredded cabbage, and condiments to taste: lemon wedge, yellow mustard or steak sauce.

Notes

You can buy panko ready-made at Japanese food stores, or make your own. To make your own, take off the crusts of day-old good white bread. Flake the white part of the bread by hand, not the food processor, which would turn the bread into powder. Spread out the bread crumbs on baking sheets and dry in the oven at a very low temperature until the crumbs are thoroughly try - not colored, just crunchy. You can store this in tightly sealed plastic bags or containers for quite a long time.