Mid-Week Meal - Katsu Don

You know, I got an email last night over a remark in my post on Yoshino's about how deceptively hard it is to make good Katsu Don. Basically, the email called my remark silly, and "called me out." Though I usually will ignore Emails, this time I went to the freezer, and started to defrost some Chicken Breasts.

Tonight we had Chicken Katsu Don. I wish I took a better photo:

2 Fried Breaded Pork Cutlets(Tonkatsu) or Chicken Cutlets(Chicken Katsu)
1 Onion Sliced lengthwise into wedges
3 Eggs lightly beaten(don't over-beat, the eggs will become "stiff")
Cooked Rice
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tb Sake
2 Tb Sugar
3 Tb Mirin
3 Tb Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Instant Dashi

1 - Pour water into a small pot and bring to a boil(note: The Missus enjoys alot of sauce on Her Katsu Don, so I usually double the sauce recipe), and add Sake, Sugar, Mirin, and Soy sauce. Stir to dissolve sugar. When the Donburi sauce returns to a boil, remove from heat and add Instant Dashi(do not boil), and stir to dissolve.

2 - Slice Cutlets crosswise into bite sized pieces

3 - Fill two good sized Donburi(bowls) with hot rice.

4 - Pour 1/2 the sauce into a small-medium sized frying pan(make sure you have a lid), or even better, an oyako-nabe pan(these are pans especially made for making Donburi dishes - I don't have one). Over medium heat, bring sauce to a simmer. Add 1/2 of the onions, and briefly simmer. Place one of the sliced cutlets into the pan on top of the onions and sauce. Pour 1/2 of the beaten egg in a circular motion around the cutlet. Cover and let simmer for 20-45 seconds.

5 - Uncover the pan and remove from heat. At this point I fold some of the egg, onions, and sauce over the cutlets. And transfer to the Donburi bowl, covering the rice. Make sure you get all of the "good stuff".

Top with benishoga, green onions, nori, furikake, string beans, or whatever.......

Repeat with second cutlet.

The verdict? The Missus thought the sauce was good, as well as the egg. The texture of the chicken was okay, though She wants me to brine the chicken before cooking to create a dense texture. The Katsu was a bit too salty, so I'll have to cut back on the salt next time.

Simple stuff, really(I could've used even more egg)......the cutlet shouldn't be saturated and mushy, the egg shouldn't be stiff, and the sauce should have enough of a salty-soy-sweet taste to flavor the rice.

Tomorrow it's another restaurant!

Comments

[Jim]

Dude!

Someone called you out??? Do they know who they are talking to???

I trust your blog more than I trust my wife!!! So be it.

[Kirk]

Jim, Jim, Jim!!! Whoa, take it easy...we don't want to get the Missus angry. ;o) It's quite funny, the sentences that people hang on too, the phrases that bother them. And sometimes the Emails are "interesting". Who are they talking too? Just some little Asian Guy who likes to eat(alot). LOL!

[Jean]

Lol! Jim, hope your wife doesn't read your comment. ;)

Kirk, this dish definitely looks good! I've tried to make this dish from a cookbook but couldn't get the knack of cooking it just right.

Oh, you had mentioned about another teriyaki dish that did not please you. I have to agree with you whole heartedly about the char marks. YOU GOTTA HAVE CHAR MARKS ON THE MEAT BEFORE YOU SERVE IT TO YOUR PAYING CUSTOMERS!!!

Okay, I'm fine now.. :)

[Mark]

MMM looks good, i am now in the mood for a good Katsu Don. Do you know of any places for lunch on mira mesa that do it well?

[Fred]

Now, that's how you fry them chicken...The first time my roommates tried it, they forgot to defrost it (!!!) ...actually they had to take out the katsu half-fried, scrape the batter off and let it sit...eventually we had food, but we set off the smoke alarm !

Anyways kudos to you Kirk!

PS: Hope you post some new BA REN dishes! I had the 'homestyle' tendon (tad rough)...tho I couldn't find the one you ate with konnyaku.

[Lynnea]

Thanks so much for the recipe. It looks wonderful. My husband loves loves loves katsu don, particularly made with tonkatsu and he makes that fairly well so we'll have to try out your recipe.

[Kirk]

Hi Jean - I hear you...and you're right!

Hi Mark - Sorry, this is kinda late - I haven't really explored the Japanese Restaurants in the area...maybe Mr Wasabi??? I still haven't checked that place out.

Hi Fred - Why thanks - most people will deep fry katsu, I use a cast iron skillet, oil has to be the right temp, so as not to make the cutlet oily. The Missus usually requests that I brine the chicken for a couple of hours to create the texture She enjoys. Oh yes, the chicken needs to be thawed, sliced open, and pounded to a uniformed thickness....

Hi Lynnea - Don't know about that...if somethings works for you, maybe you don't want to mess with it. If you do try this, let me know how it turns out.

[Ed]

That katsudon looks really good!

Anyway, I've made a tonkastu sauce that uses neither ketchup nor Worcester sauce. Isn't that almost sacreligious ;)? It's almost like a thicker version of the katsudon sauce, except that I take the liberty of putting a few extra things...

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Sounds good - did you know that in Nagoya people eat their Tonkatsu with a miso sauce?

[Mark]

thanks Kirk, i went on a mission to find it yesterday but struck out. I tried the express Japanese place in the sorrento valley food court, but they just hat tonkatsu, i drove up to the target shopping center on mira mesa but the place i was looking for Oishii? close down. So i went to drive up to Mr Wasabi but ended up seeing a sign for sushi at the Bamboo hut. I figured i will try there and if they dont have it i will just get something else, i was starving by this point. I ended up getting the Portugese sausage moco. i have never had this dish before so i dont have too much frame of reference but i thought it was good. The sausage had a good taste and it was topped with a fried egg(cant go wrong there) and some brown gravy which i thought was good too. It came with a salad with overly sweet dressing and garlic rice which i also liked. Hard to screw up sausage but i would get this dish again. I will try agian for katsu don today.

[howie]

After running my own site for a while, I'm amazed at how many belligerent weirdos there are on the internet. That said, your katsu don looks delicious!

I'm a big believer in brining poultry too. But recently I saw a heated debate at egullet recommending pre-salting over brining. I haven't tried it out yet, but it makes for interesting reading:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=91849

[Ed]

Katsu with miso - now that sounds good. Any idea of how to make that? I just may have to have that sauce the next time I make katsu.

[Kirk]

Hi Mark - Wow, talk about on a mission! I'm hoping you get your KatsuDon soon!

Hi Howie - The brining in this case is purely for textural purposes....

Hi Ed - I really don't know...maybe a search on Nagoya Miso-Katsu??? Or yoy'll just have to make a trip to Nagoya. I'll try to do some research...I was told this by a former Server at Sammy's/Katzra.

[CJ]

I lived in Nagoya for a year, and made my own cookbook based on my host families' recipes. Although Miso Katsu is a dish that most people go out to eat, I did get a good recipe from an NHK program about 13 years ago. The trick is to use the deep RED miso that is associated with Nagoya. It's much thicker and has a more complex flavor. I warn you, once you've tasted great Miso Katsu, you'll always crave it, and never find it on a menu in the US! :( I will repost the recipe tomorrow.

[Kirk]

Hi CJ - Thanks for commenting...so this is like pure torture? I look forward to the recipe.

[Jo]

I think I could do this with what I have available. The donburi sauce sounds deceptively easy. However; I'm more interested in the cutlets themselves. Is there any special technique for applying the breading and frying?

[Kirk]

Hi Jo - You just make chicken katsu...the basic dusted with flour - egg wash - panko kinda thing.

[amanda]

I just wanted to say thank you for your recipe. I randomly came across it when I googled "katsu don". After having my husband pick up some boneless pork,I was able to piece together the meal I had been craving all day.
You are awesome. Thanks again.

[Kirk]

Hi Amanda - I'm glad it worked out for you. Thanks for dropping by and commenting, I appreciate it!

[jeff c]

Kirk, your blogs great. I know I just left a comment on kimchee fried rice but I say the Katsudon on "Whats Cooking" and I just had to check it out. My wife has been on a comfort foods cooking kick and one of these comfort foods is the Katsudon. Being from Taiwan, she has had great Katsudon so she looked up a recipe (not yours unfortunately), that tasted great (fortunately). Now when I crave a great Katsudonburi, I always bug my wife about it. I think she's created a monster.
As a style aside, do you prefer the katsu soaked with the sauce or still crispy?