Katsudon – Pork Cutlet Bowl with Rice

katsudon2

Unofficially, I ended up sorting through Japanese recipes here in my March posts. As someone who has moved from one country to another, from city to city, I have never felt that I had a place to really call home. Japanese cuisine and, of course, my partner, are essentially my home, allowing me to  feel most comforted wherever I am; maybe that’s what I’ve been needing lately.

Undoubtedly, when I think of comfort food, katsudon comes to mind. I recall working at one of the reputable tonkatsu (specializing in pork cutlets) restaurants, called Wako, in Shinjuku during my university year, honing my skills in the kitchen with an enthusiastic Japanese chef and another chef who had French cuisine training under his belt. I learned not only how to cook but also why we cook. The ultimate answer was the pleasure of serving good and delicious food to those who love to eat! This mentality has always been inside of me, both before and after this experience, and to this day I remain unchanged. I wish I could track down those colleagues who cooked the most intricate and delicious lunches for us employees every single day–we had the greatest team in the kitchen!

chive_plant3lamb's_lettuce_radicchio_chives radicchiokatsudon3

Katsudon – Pork Cutlet Bowl with Rice

The key to restaurant-quality katsudon is all about using good quality pork and bread (plus the secret sauce). My soba sauce recipe is very similar to what I used to concoct every week in a huge batch within Wako’s kitchen. Thus, I still make batches big enough to last for a few months in my fridge, and I ensure that they keep moving with me, wherever I go! The best texture is achieved by making your own homemade panko on which you nestle the pork, creating a veritable bed of sweet, fluffy panko. The size of the skillet matters as well; try to use the smallest one in which you can fit all the ingredients in order to ensure even cooking during the shortest possible time.

Serves 2

2 pork centre loin pieces, about 1 inch thick, boneless

Salt and pepper

All purpose flour

1 egg + 2 tablespoons water, beaten well

2 cups fresh white bread, torn in large pieces (for making panko)

Oil for deep frying

½ onion, sliced into ¼ inch pieces

3 tablespoons soba sauce or more to your liking

Or a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon mirin

2 eggs, beaten very lightly

Green onions, scallions or chives, chopped finely

Cooked white rice

Rinse and pat the pork until dry. Season with salt and pepper. Place the bread pieces in a blender and roughly grind until they look like large snowflakes. Don’t grind to the size and texture of store-bought panko, as larger flakes are key to making the pork cutlet fluffy and textured.

Prepare the breading station by placing flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls.

Do one piece at a time. Evenly coat the pork with flour, removing the excess, and then coat with egg. Lay the pork on the bed of breadcrumbs and cover the top with plenty of the crumbs as well. Press gently but firmly. Refrigerate, covered with a piece of clean wrung cloth or Saranwrap, for at least 10 minutes to moisten the breading. This makes breading adhere well and ensures an ideal texture.

In the meantime, warm oil to 345 to 355 F in a deep-rimmed pan, enough for deep frying.

Deep fry the pork until golden brown. Flip when halfway done. Test the doneness by slicing the thickest part. It is finished if the pork is light pink in colour and the juice is clear. Rest the pork on a rack for 5 minutes. Slice into pieces that are easy for you to eat.

Place the soba sauce, or the mixture of sugar and soy sauce, plus 2/3 cup water in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until tender. Place the sliced pork pieces in the skillet, and pour some sauce over top; cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the lightly beaten eggs over top, cover with a lid and cook for another 15 seconds, until eggs are half cooked. Serve over the cooked white rice, scattering the green onions on top.

 

Kuri Gohan & Tonjiru

kuri gohan

After my mom left, many kind hearts looked after my sister and me. We were consoled by my grandma, our aunties and uncles, and my father’s colleague Mrs. Tajima. We were about 8 years old and Mrs. Tajima had children who were in junior high, so sometimes she came to our apartment to help us with chores or brought us to her house after school. This was when I discovered a love of chestnuts. Boiled, steamed or roasted, I loved eating these nuts, as to me they encompassed a whole autumn season on a plate.

steamed chestnuts

Mrs. Tajima’s children taught us how to spoon the nutty dense meat out of the steamy hot chestnuts. My fingernails ended up all yellow and sweet, with hard brown shells piled up on a table. After working hard to extract the chestnut meat, we happily ate the delicious chestnuts with a glass of milk. Today, when I close my eyes and discern the flavour of each chestnut in the rice, I wonder how Mrs. Tajima is doing, and suddenly remember the way she wiped my wet hair in the evening light with me burying my head around her tummy and wondering if this was how my mother would smell. Cooking chestnuts always brings back this memory and the warmth of Mrs. Tajima.

kuri gohan, tonjiru and ohitashi with cabbage

tonjiru

 ohitashi with cabbage

Kuri Gohan (Chestnut Rice)

Serves 6

30 plump chestnuts

1¼ cups white rice

1 cup (250ml) brown rice

2½ cups water

2 tablespoons sake

½ teaspoon salt

For sprinkling

Roasted black sesame seeds

Sea salt

Rinse the chestnuts, place them in a large bowl, and cover with cold water over night.

Next day, rinse the chestnuts and place them in boiling water for a few minutes. Let them cool off in the water. Peel the skin with a small knife, being careful not to break the chestnuts. Soak them in water for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash the rice well and change water a few times until water becomes clear. Place in the bowl of a rice cooker with 2½ cups water.

Rinse the chestnuts and drain well. Place the sake and salt in the prepared rice and stir to mix. Lay the chestnuts on top of rice evenly and cook (If you don’t use a rice cooker, you can cook the same way you normally cook the rice in a pot).

Combine the sesame seeds and salt in a small bowl. Serve immediately with sesame mixture lightly sprinkled on top.

 

Tonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup)

I always make a plenty of this dish because the flavour gets even better the next day!

Serves 6-8

1 large gobo, skin removed and cut lengthwise and then, into 1 inch pieces

6 inch daikon, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

1 lb pork centre loin chop, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups water

2 sheets abura age, cut into ½ inch strings

2 leeks, cut into ½ inch pieces

1/3 cup to ½ cup red miso and white miso (I like mixing half and half)

Soak the gobo in cold water, changing the water a couple of times until it becomes clear, about 20 minutes. Drain well.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and sauté gobo. Then, add daikon, carrots and pork until they are nicely coated with oil, for about 15 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Skim occasionally and simmer for 30 minutes.

Rinse the abura age by pouring boiling water to remove the excess oil. When cool, squeeze the moisture out and add to the soup.

Add the leek and cook further, about 10 minutes or so.

Turn the heat down to low heat, place the miso in a ladle and melt gradually into the soup. Never boil miso soup, as this will destroy the subtle umami flavour.

Gentlly simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve while hot.

 

Ohitashi with Cabbage

½ head of cabbage

½ organic lemon

1 Thai pepper, chopped thinly

2 tablespoon dashi stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Boil water in a medium pot and submerge the cabbage for about 5 minutes. Drain well.

In the meantime, extract lemon juice for about 1 tablespoon. Peel the rind and cut into thin strips for ½ tablespoon. Combine the juice, dashi and soy sauce in a small bowl.

When cabbage is cool, squeeze the moisture out and cut into ½ inch pieces.

Mix the cabbage, lemon rind, pepper, and lemon juice mixture and serve immediately.

 

Garlic Scapes and Beef Stir-fry

garlicscapes and beef stir-fry

Summer has finally arrived in my garden with a sudden heat, melting my tomato plants against a south-facing wall, sweetening my raspberries and thickening sunflower stalks. Broad beans also started to swell rapidly under the scorching rays. After weeks of complaining about having too much rain, we now must rush, overwhelmed, to catch up with watering to maintain the crops. This is how we start summer in the West Coast. A much awaited season…

garlic scapesgarlic scapesraspberriesingredients

This is a dish my grandma used to cook when garlic scapes were abundant at the market. She didn’t grow her own produce, other than few shiso plats in her tiny space in the midst of Tokyo, but appreciated cooking with nature’s natural clock.

The tasty sauce in this recipe that she made by scraping the bottom of a pan was a good stimulant for a poor appetite even during hot Japanese summer evenings. I hope to serve this dish the next time that I see her accompanied by a light glass of beer!

garlic scapes and beef stir-fry

Garlic Scapes and Beef Stir-fry

Serves 3-4

1 lb beef sirloin, cut into ½ inch strips

A dash of sesame oil

1 tablespoon sake or white wine

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

Salt

2 tablespoons sesame oil

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small knob ginger, finely chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

½ lb or more young garlic scapes, cut into 2 inch long pieces

½ each of red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, cut into strips

Salt and pepper

A pinch of cane sugar

3 cups cooked rice

Marinate the beef in the sesame oil, sake or wine, soy sauce and a pinch of salt for at least 10 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables.

Heat a large frying pan with half the amount of the sesame oil and vegetable oil over medium high heat. When it starts sizzling, stir-fry the garlic cloves, ginger and scallions for a couple of minutes.

Add the scapes and stir-fry till softened. It takes a while, so stir constantly so as not to burn the vegetables. Add bell peppers and cook until soft but still crunchy, and season with salt. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Stir the cornstarch into the marinated beef. Using the same pan, heat the remaining oil till hot. Sear the beef till browned on one side, and turn on the other side till browned.

Add a pinch of the cane sugar and the same amount of salt to the beef, and stir well. When the inside of the beef turns soft pink without blood, it’s about time to return the vegetables to the pan. Stir well to combine all together for few minutes. Transfer the beef mixture to a large plate.

Return the pan on the stove over high heat with ½ cup water. Boil and scrape the bottom of the pan, reducing the liquid to make gravy sauce. When the sauce starts bubbling, stop the heat. Pour over the beef mixture.

Serve immediately in an individual bowl over rice.