I had never heard of Katsudon before Hubs sent me the link below and asked if we could have this for dinner this week. It sounded delicious, so of course I said sure!
I learned from Wikipedia that katsudon is a popular Japanese food – a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and condiments. It has become a modern ritual tradition for Japanese students to eat katsudon the night before taking a major test or school entrance exam. This is because “katsu” is a homophone of the verb katsu, meaning “to win” or “to be victorious”.
Now, I don’t need to be victorious tomorrow, but maybe we’ll win something – note to self: buy a PowerBall ticket. 🙂
The dish was delicious, but I would have liked a few changes. The original recipe has 2.5T. of sugar, I thought it was to sweet, so I cut it down in the recipe below. The recipe I used also had you adding the pork to the simmering liquid for 5 minutes. I think it defeated the purpose of having panko on the outside in the first place – it got kinda soggy. So, I think keeping the pork out of the liquid will be best.
I will definitely be making this again, but with the changes noted below.
Adapted from wellmaxwell.
INGREDIENTS
2 boneless pork chops, pounded thin
2T. Vegetable oil
1 Yellow onion, sliced in long pieces
Dashi broth (2T. bonito flakes and 1T. dried seaweed steeped in 2C. water)
4T. Soy sauce
4T. Mirin
1.5T. Sugar
2C. Spinach
2 Eggs, beaten used at the end
1 Egg, beaten for breading
Panko crumbs
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
With a meat mallet, pound the pork chops until they are about 1/2″ thin (my local grocery had super-thick chops this week, so I bought one and just cut it in half lengthwise). Season with salt and pepper on each side.
Ready 3 bowls – one for flour, one for egg and one for panko. Coat each piece in flour, then place it in egg, then move it to the panko and coat well.
Heat a skillet on medium-high heat with vegetable oil. Place coated pork into the skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove and place on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to boil, place bonito flakes and seaweed into the water and let it boil for 5 mins until the flavors have been released. Strain, and save the broth.
Wash out the skillet previously used for the pork. Add soy sauce, mirin, 1/2-3/4C. dashi broth and sugar. Add onions, cover and cook over medium heat for 5 mins or until the onions are tender.
Remove the lid and place spinach and egg on top of the sauce. Cover and cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the eggs are done cooking.
Cut the pork chops into slender pieces.
To assemble, place rice in the bottom of your bowl, top with sliced pork and the spinach mixture. Ladle on extra sauce and enjoy!
Husband Rating – 3.5 out of 5 – “I agree with Bella’s thoughts above and think it’ll be much better next time with the changes she made.”
Bella's Bistro 