Katsudon – a delicious Japanese favourite

I shared our absolute favourite family dinner recipe ideas earlier in the week. Last night we enjoyed Katsudon – a recipe that has a few different steps, but is so worth it for the authentic Japanese flavours. You’ll soon be making it so often that it won’t feel fiddly at all.

This dish is pretty much the only fried dish I make. It’s just not a cooking method I usually turn to. But if it’s Japanese it can’t be all bad, can it? In my head, Japanese cooking is the ultimate healthy eating. If only because Japanese people are generally whip thin and very bouncy, even when old.

Enjoy the delicious Katsudon flavours. Apologies for the meh images – I shot it after cooking and before serving under the LED lights in the kitchen. I’ll never be a food blogger. Sigh.

Katsudon

Makes 4 serves
Takes about 45 mintues

•  2 boneless pork fillets
•  Plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper, about 1/4 cup
•  1 large free-range egg
•  1 cup panko crumbs (substitute breadcrumbs if you can’t get panko)
•  Peanut or canola oil, for frying
•  ½ cup chicken stock (or dashi stock if you can get hold of it)
•  2 teaspoons raw sugar
•  1 tablespoon soy sauce
•  2 teaspoons mirin
•  2 large free-range eggs
•  1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
•  Steamed white rice – 2 cups uncooked will serve 4
•  1 shallot, finely sliced

Put the pork fillets in a plastic bag and hammer them until they are about 1 centimetre thick (the kids love this job). Put the egg into a shallow bowl and beat until combined. Put the panko crumbs in another shallow bowl.

Dust the pork with seasoned flour then dip into the egg, allow excess egg to drain off and then dip into the panko crumbs, pressing down to get a good crumb onto the meat.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot enough to make a panko crumb sizzle on contact (just throw one in there to check). Lay the pork into the frying pan – don’t overcrowd the pan, cook in batches. Cook for about 6 minutes on each side until golden then remove from pan and lay the pork on a plate lined with paper towel to rest.

Now you can make the sauce by combining the stock, sugar, soy sauce and mirin in a small jug. Then beat the two eggs in a small bowl. Add about a tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and and fry the sliced onion over medium heat. While they’re frying, slice your pork into thin slices (about 1 cm wide).

When the onions are just starting to caramelise, pour the sauce over the onions and lay your sliced pork pieces on top. Next pour the egg over everything and cook until egg has just started to set.

Serve on top of the steamed rice, adding the shallots on top for colour and flavour.