Is it difficult to cook katsudon? I wouldn’t say so but it definitely makes things simpler if you’re already familiar with basic Japanese cooking. If you’ve cooked tonkatsu and oyakodon in the past, cooking katsudon should be a breeze.
It makes cooking easier too if you keep things organized. Cook your tonkatsu and rice at the same time. Rest the fried pork cutlets on a rack. Don’t stack them to prevent steam build up. That way, the crust stays crisp while you cook the eggs.
If you need a detailed guide to cook tonkatsu, see the recipe below. You’ll find everything there including the recommended cut of pork, how to season them, how to create the crust and how to fry the meat without burning the breadcrumbs before the pork is cooked through.
Tonkatsu
It’s Japanese fried panko-coated pork cutlet. Golden and ultra crisp, it is served with tonkatsu sauce made with Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce and sugar.
With the pork fried and resting, scoop rice into a bowl and start cooking the eggs. Boil together dashi, soy sauce, sake and mirin with sliced onions and scallions in a shallow pan. You want the broth to reduce a bit to allow the strong smell and taste of alcohol to dissipate. You also want the onion slices to soften before you add your eggs.
Pour beaten eggs over the broth in a circular motion. Let the eggs cook for a few seconds so that they start to become firm while the top remains quite wet.
Take your tonkatsu (which you may optionally cut into slices so that the dish is easier to eat from the bowl) and gently lay it on the eggs. Cook for a bit longer then slide all the contents of the pan over the rice in your bowl. Garnish with more scallions and serve.
Katsudon
Ingredients
- ½ cup dashi
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
- 1 onion very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions divided
- 2 whole eggs lightly stirred
- 1 cooked tonkatsu cut into slices
- hot cooked rice in a bowl
Instructions
- In a wide shallow pan, boil the mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar, dashi, sliced onion and half of the scallions over medium heat. Cook until the onion slices are softened, about three minutes.
- Pour the beaten eggs over the broth.
- Lay the sliced tonkatsu on top and boil for about half a minute to allow the eggs to stick to the bottom and sides of the pork as they cook.
- Slide the contents of the pan over rice in a bowl.
- Sprinkle with the remaining scallions (and sesame seeds, optionally) and serve your katsudon immediately.
