Baked Katsudon

A true soul food of Japan, Katsudon is said to have the ability to warm the coldest of hearts. Case in point: Crispy, breaded, juicy pork cutlet, simmered with eggs in a savory dashi broth, then served over a bowl of steamed rice, katsudon is pure comfort.

Baked Katsudon

Ingredients

For Baked Katsu:

• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
• 2 pieces ½"-thick lean boneless pork loin chops (2 pieces = ½ lb or 226 g, thickness: 1.2 cm or ½" )
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg

For Katsudon:

• ½ onion (divided - ¼ onion/serving)
• 2 large eggs (divided - 1 egg/serving)
• 2 servings cooked Japanese short grain rice

For Katsudon Sauce (divided for each serving):

• 1 cup dashi
• 2 Tbsp sake
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar

To Serve:

• Mitsuba (Japanese parsley)
• Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional)

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
2. Combine the panko and oil in a frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer panko into a shallow dish and allow to cool.
3. Cut the onions into thin slices and the mitsuba into small pieces.
4. Remove the extra fat and make a couple of slits on the connective tissue between the meat and fat. The reason why you do this is that red meat and fat have different elasticity, and when they are cooked they will shrink and expand at different rates. This will allow Tonkatsu to stay nice and flat and prevent it from curling up.
5. Pound the meat with a meat pounder, or if you don’t have one then just use the back of knife to pound. Mold the extended meat back into original shape with your hands.
6. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Dredge each pork piece in the flour to coat completely and pat off the excess flour.
8. Beat one egg in a bowl and coat the pork with the beaten egg. Finally coat with the toasted panko. Press on the panko flakes to make sure they adhere to the pork.
9. Place the pork on the prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper or even better if you have an oven-safe wire rack (as air goes through on the bottom so panko won't get crushed). Bake at 400F (200C) until the pork is no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes.
10. Remove the tonkatsu from the oven and cut into 1 inch pieces (so you can eat with chopsticks).

Make One Serving At a Time Using a Small Pan

1. Combine Seasonings in a liquid measuring cup or bowl. Beat one egg in a bowl.
2. Put half of the onion slices into the pan and pour ½ to ¾ cup of the sauce to cover them. Adjust the amount of sauce based on your frying pan size (I use oyakodon pan which makes for 1 serving, so you can slide cooked oyakodon onto a rice bowl easily. You can use a small frying pan). Bring the sauce and onions to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook onion slices until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Put one Baked Tonkatsu in it and turn the heat up to medium high heat. Pour and distribute beaten egg evenly and cover with the lid.
4. When egg is half cooked, turn off the heat.
5. Serve rice in a donburi bowl and slide Tonkatsu and egg mixture on top. Continue with the second serving.  Serve with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on the side.

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