Katsudon

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 200 g sushi rice or short grain rice
• 250 ml water, cold
• 4 pork schnitzels or minute steaks
• 50 g panko or breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 spring onions
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake (cooking sake)
• 200 ml dashi or vegetable stock
• salt and pepper
• n. B. Oil, neutral for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Tonkatsu and Donburi, pork schnitzel on a bed of rice

Place the rice in a saucepan and rinse thoroughly with cold water and one hand, then drain the water. Repeat this process 4-5 times until the water runs clear. Finally, add 250 ml of cold water, just enough to cover the rice. Bring the rice to a boil over high heat until it foams, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pan. Leave the lid on the pan for 20 minutes without lifting it. Don’t worry, it won’t stick. In the meantime, wash the pork schnitzels and pat them dry. Beat the egg on a flat plate, season lightly with salt and pepper, and place the panko on another plate. Dip each pork schnitzel completely in the egg, then coat both sides in the panko. Press the panko firmly and spread it evenly on all sides. Unlike Wiener Schnitzel, no flour is used here. Deep-fry the pork schnitzels one after the other in hot oil in a pan and let them drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Don’t skimp on the oil; the schnitzels must be immersed in the oil up to at least half the thickness of the meat, otherwise they will stick and burn! The oil is hot enough when small bubbles form on the wood when you place a wooden spoon in it. Cut the schnitzels into bite-sized pieces and keep them warm in the oven at around 80-100°C on a plate lined with kitchen paper using top and bottom heat. Slice the spring onions into rings. Bring the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and sake to a boil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the sliced ​​schnitzels. Whisk the second egg and add it after about 2 minutes, reducing the heat considerably (to level 1 or 2, depending on your stove). Finally, sprinkle the spring onions on top and cook for about another 2 minutes. The egg should now be set and the schnitzels should have absorbed the liquid well from the bottom. Carefully turn the rice in the pot once with a moistened wooden spoon and place half of it on each deep plate. Top the schnitzels with the sauce and egg mixture and serve warm. Katsudon is a popular Japanese dish eaten before exams, as the word “katsu” as a verb means “to win.”