Katsu Don (Pork Cutlet over Rice Bowl)

Katsu don is basically a fried pork cutlet over rice, onions and egg with a thin teriyaki-like sauce. Hubby had a late sim last night so this is what I sent him with. 

Also: Happy Lunar New Year!

I spent all of yesterday putting together some simple side dishes, and today I am making yaki mandu (fried dumplings), ddeok mandu guk (traditional soup Koreans eat on New Year's), and maybe some sweet mochi. 

Last year I created my own yut-nori, a game that Koreans play. But unfortunately it got packed away so I will have to wait until next year to play it again :(

Katsu Don
Serves 1
Adapted from Cooking with Dog

Katsu:

• 1 pork cutlet, pounded thin to about 1/4 inch more or less
• Panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• flour
• salt & pepper

Katsu Don Sauce:

• 1/4 c water
• 2 pinches granulated dashi (or I'd recommend about 1/2 tsp fish sauce)
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T mirin
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 of a large onion, sliced
• 1 egg (or my hubs prefers 2)

Directions:

Prep a large pot with oil 1-1.5 inches deep. Heat it over medium-high until it is hot enough that if you drop a bit of flour into it the flour will sizzle and burn up. While that is heating up, pour a generous amount of flour onto a dinner plate, do the same with the panko on another plate, and beat your egg in a shallow bowl.

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Dip it into the flour, then the egg, then the panko. Make sure that each time you dip the pork is well-covered. Then slowly drop the pork into the hot oil. After 1.5 minutes, flip it over and cook for the another 1.5 minutes until both sides are a deep golden brown. Once done, replace the pork cutlet to a plate covered in paper towels (or ideally a cooling rack placed over a baking with with paper towels). Cut the porklet width-wise into 1-inch slices.

Next, set a medium-size pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the water, dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Stir to combine. Add the onions.

Let that come to a boil and then cook for about 3 more minutes until the onions are soft. During that time, only lightly beat your egg in a small bowl. After the 3 minutes, place the katsu on top of the sauce and immediately drizzle the egg over top of everything. Cover and let that cook until the egg is done. Remove from heat and serve over rice.