Tonkatsu Donburi Pork Cutlets with steamed rice and bean sprouts or 炸猪排 - 豬肉豬排蓋飯 - A Delicious Japanese Chinese Cuisine
by JennJenn-
Lovely, plain but simple home style Japanese cooking at it’s best. You will love this one!
Tip: For a really crisp crumb coating. Slice bread and slowly toast it until golden brown or make Melba toast on a very low setting to dry out bread of all moisture. Place broken up pieces of toast into food processor and blend to make crumbs.
So the story goes.. “My Japanese grandmother often told me stories her grandmother had told her about life during the Meiji Restoration. I loved to hear of the time the ban on meat eating was lifted in Japan and great great grandmother ate meat for the first time. Tonkatso or breaded fried pork cutlets quickly became popular. Ton means pork and Katsu refers to cutlet. Katso Donburi is a closely related cousin and came later. No one could make it better than grandmother. She would generously fill each individual serving bowl (donburi) with hot steaming rice. Then she placed a small portion of cooked egg and vegetable on top. Finally she topped it all off with a sliced fried pork cutlet and a spoonful of delicious sauce. This type of meat in a bowl was always a real favourite among our family as well as everyone else in Japan. Even foreigners like this type of Namban-ryori or foreign devil’s food.” ~ Yukari Robb, Richmond, Virginia.
Another Comment follows…. “My husband is addicted to any kind of Oriental food and we have visited many Japanese and Chinese restaurants in our travels, both in this country and abroad. One of his all time favourites is katsu donburi, or pork cutlets with rice. He enjoys it so much that I finally persuaded a Japanese friend of mine to write to her mother in Japan and get a recipe for me as a surprise for my husband. When I presented the dish to him he was absolutely delighted and I have continued to make it often as a special treat.” ~ Shirley Channing, Dubuque, Iowa. Serves: 4
Ingredients: (Sauce)
50ml good Scotch whiskey
60ml thick dark soya sauce
90ml brown vinegar
60ml caramel sugar, brown
125ml water
Ingredients: (Pork)
3 – 4 oz (85 – 114g) Pork cutlets, about 1/8th inch thick
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
4 eggs
1 onion (medium), thinly sliced or 6 scallions, sliced
450g fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained or according to taste
2 – 3 cups hot cooked rice
Method:
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over moderate heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Set the sauce aside.
Heat the oven to 200 deg.
Dip the pork in the beaten eggs and then in the bread crumbs, patting the cutlets so that the coating adheres. Set the cutlets aside for 20 minutes to allow the coating to set.
Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat. Cook the cutlets one at a time until brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven.
Beat the eggs, adding any of the beaten egg left from coating the pork.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over moderately high heat and add the onion or scallions. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until softened. Add the bean sprouts and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Pour in the eggs and cook, stirring, until just set.
Cut the pork into 1/8th inch strips or slices.
To serve, put a spoonful of hot rice in each serving bowl. Spoon the bean sprout mixture on top and pour some of the sauce over the bean sprouts. Top each serving with strips of pork. Serve immediately.
This recipe comes from the book: A taste from the past – Good old food – By Irena Chalmers.
