Katsudon (Japanese Pork Cutlet Bowl)
Ingredients
For the Katsu
- 2 boneless pork chops about 150 g each, thick-cut rib chops are best
- salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 50 g panko breadcrumbs
- cooking oil for frying
Katsudon
- 5 g dried kelp (kombu)
- 150 ml water
- 1 small onion yellow, about 100 g
- 50 ml mirin
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- Japanese wild parsley (mitsuba) or chopped green onions
Instructions
Make kombu dashi
- Place 5 g dried kelp (kombu) in 150 ml water and soak for 30 mins to 1 hour or until the kombu has rehydrated. You can do this the night before and store in the fridge for meal prep.
Katsu
- Preheat cooking oil to 170 °C (338 °F). While you wait, prepare the pork. Make incisions in the fatty parts of 2 boneless pork chops to prevent curling, pat the surface dry and sprinkle both sides with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
- Pound the pork chops until about 2cm (¾ inch) thick all over.
- Crack 1 egg into a wide shallow container and add 1 tsp cooking oil and 1 tbsp whole milk. Whisk until combined.
- Prepare two more containers, one with 4 tbsp all-purpose flour and one with 50 g panko breadcrumbs.
- Coat the pork with flour on both sides, and brush off any excess.
- Next, dip them into the egg mixture, then lift and let the excess drip off.
- Finally, coat with a generous layer of panko and press the surface lightly to secure them.
- Test the oil temperature with a crumb of panko, if it sinks a little, then rises at once and scatters, the oil is ready. Carefully place the coated pork into the oil and fry undisturbed for about 4 minutes on each side (8 minutes total) or until golden brown. When the bubbles and sizzle die down, they're cooked through.
- Transfer the katsu on a wire rack to drain the excess oil.
- Cut into 2cm slices and set aside for later.
Donburi
- Cut the onion into thin wedges.
- Pour the kombu dashi into a saucepan and heat on medium low until small bubbles start to appear. Remove the kombu, and add 50 ml mirin, 1 tbsp light brown sugar, 1 tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder.
- Mix until the sugar and bouillon have dissolved, then add the onion and increase the heat to medium. Simmer until the onion is softened to your liking.
- Add 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) and stir to evenly distribute, then lay the sliced katsu over the top.
- Separate the whites and yolks of 3 eggs into two bowls.
- Whisk the whites and pour them around the pan, avoiding the top of the katsu.
- Cover with a lid and steam fry the eggs for about 1 minute or until half cooked.
- Lightly whisk the egg yolks and then pour them around the pan, again avoiding the top of the katsu.
- Cover with a lid once more and turn off the heat. Finish cooking the egg in the residual heat until it reaches your preferred firmness.
- Divide 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice between serving bowls and top with the katsu and egg mixture. Drizzle a tbsp of leftover sauce in the pan around the katsu in each bowl and garnish with Japanese wild parsley (mitsuba). Enjoy!
Notes
Check the strength of your bouillon powder: I use Youki's additive-free chicken bouillon, which calls for 1 tsp per 200 ml. Compare your label with that rate, and use a little less of a stronger powder or a little more of a weaker one.
If you use dashi granules: Keep the water at 150 ml and dissolve kombu-only dashi granules in it at the rate on the package. There is no soaking time.
Pat the pork dry before the flour: If the pounded surface stays wet, the coating never grips the meat and tends to come away in the oil. Press both sides with paper towels, then dust on the flour.
Keep the flour thin and even: A thick coat of flour leaves a gap between the meat and the coating, and the coating lifts off.
How long the katsu sits in the broth: Leave it too long and the crunch is gone. Skip the soak and the broth never reaches the meat. Pour in the whites once the underside has soaked up broth and the top is still crisp.
Soften the onion first: If the katsu goes in and then waits for the onion to cook, the coating soaks through to the core in the meantime.
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