Japanese katsu curry

Ingredients

• 240 g Japanese short-grain rice
• 300 ml water for cooking the rice
• 4 pieces thick boneless pork loin cutlets
• 160 g yellow onion
• 100 g carrots
• 180 g waxy potatoes
• 500 ml water for the curry sauce
• 75 g mild Japanese curry roux blocks
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 50 g wheat flour
• 2 pieces fresh eggs
• 100 g Japanese panko breadcrumbs
• 520 ml neutral oil for cooking and frying
• 8 g fine salt
• 2 pinches ground black pepper
• 80 g Japanese fukujinzuke pickles

Method

1. Rinse the rice several times in cold water, without crushing it, until the water becomes almost clear. Drain it thoroughly, place it in a pot with the water meant for cooking it and let it rest before starting the cooking.
2. Tightly cover the pot of rice and bring to a simmer. Cook over very low heat without lifting the lid, then turn off the heat and let the rice finish cooking covered. Fluff it gently with a paddle, lifting it rather than crushing it.
3. Slice the onion. Peel the carrots and potatoes, then cut them into even pieces, small enough to become tender without falling apart in the sauce.
4. Take a little oil and sauté the onion in a pot over medium heat. Stir regularly until it is very soft and lightly browned, without burning it.
5. Add the carrots and potatoes. Sauté them briefly to coat them in oil, then pour in the water meant for the sauce.
6. Bring to a simmer, skim if necessary and cook over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender to the core. The tip of a knife should pierce the potatoes without breaking them.
7. Turn off the heat. Gradually stir in the Japanese curry roux, stirring carefully to dissolve it without forming lumps. Add the Worcestershire sauce.
8. Return the pot to low heat and let thicken, stirring often, particularly at the bottom. The finished sauce should be brown, glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Keep it warm without a rolling boil.
9. Score the small membranes located around the edges of the cutlets so that they stay flat during cooking. Cover and gently even them out with a mallet or the bottom of a pan, without thinning them excessively. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Prepare three containers with the flour, beaten eggs and panko breadcrumbs. Coat each cutlet in the flour and shake off the excess, dip in the egg, then press it into the panko. Make sure to cover the edges as well without heavily compacting the breadcrumbs.
11. Heat the frying oil in a wide pot. Carefully lower the cutlets without overcrowding the vessel and fry until the breading is evenly golden and the pork is cooked through. Turn them carefully to preserve the crust.
12. Drain the tonkatsu on a wire rack rather than directly on paper towels. Let them rest briefly so that the juices stabilize while retaining a crispy breading.
13. Cut each tonkatsu perpendicular to the length into thick slices, keeping the pieces aligned.
14. Divide the rice onto one side of each plate. Spoon the curry sauce with the vegetables onto the other side, leaving some of the rice visible. Place a sliced tonkatsu straddling the rice and the curry, then serve the fukujinzuke on the side.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

770.2 kcal

Protein

18.57 g

Carbohydrate

97.15 g

Fat

33.67 g

Fibre

4.64 g

Calcium

20.77 mg

Iron

0.56 mg

Magnesium

8.84 mg