Pork or Chicken Tonkatsu

I've always had the hots for Japanese cuisine, except for the raw ones. It just feels weird eating something uncooked. Maybe it's just me and my sensitive stomach. But anyway, just like what I said, I enjoy eating katsudons, tempuras, teriyakis, ika fry, ebi fry, etc. There's always something in their taste that will set them apart from other cuisines.

I think cooking my favorite Japanese dishes is not hard at all, except of course if they require ingredients which are rarely available in the Philippines. Just last Sunday, I stumbled upon a website, which demonstrates how pork tonkatsu is cooked. I must say that it's a pretty easy one. It's just the same as cooking breaded chops or chicken. The only difference between the two is that a tonkatsu is accompanied with a katsu sauce - a sauce with a strong sweet and sour taste. The worcestershire sauce is overwhelming (in a good way) you can easily identify it.

I accompanied my pork tonkatsu with a side dish composed of mixed mongo sprouts, shredded carrots, and shredded cabbage. I felt like I was eating at Teriyaki Boy or some Japanese resto, only at a much cheaper cost.

For this dish, I used boneless pork loin chops. The chops being sold in the Philippines are too small compared to the size being sold in markets abroad. I didn't like to spend too much time removing the bones anymore. The same goes for chicken tonkatsu. I suggest that you have them filleted as well.

The recipe came from Nook and Pantry. As for the side dish, my mom helped me make it. She's good with cooking vegetable dishes.

Pork or Chicken Tonkatsu

• 1/2 kg boneless boneless pork loin chops or 1/2 kg chicken breast fillets
• salt and pepper
• flour (about 1/4 C)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 C breadcrumbs

Katsu Sauce

• 1/4 C ketchup
• 2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• oil for frying

Side dish

• 2 C mongo sprouts
• 1 C shredded carrots
• 1 C shredded cabbage
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• salt and pepper
• oil

Directions:

• Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chop then dredge the pork cutlet in flour and shake off the excess. Coat the chop in beaten egg and bread with bread crumbs. Repeat for each cutlet.
• Heat 1/4 in of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Place the pork chops in the hot oil and fry each side until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.
• Drain on paper towel and pat off the excess oil.
• Cut into bite size pieces before serving. Serve with rice and katsu sauce (The katsu sauce is made by combining the abovementioned ingredients).
• For the veggies, heat the oil in a skillet.
• Put the vegetables. Stir in oyster sauce.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Can you imagine how crunchy and tender it is?

My Pork Tonkatsu

Kei