Ryouri o tsukurimashou! Tonkatsu
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Here is another recipe from the Nintendo cooking game しゃべる！ＤＳお料理ナビ. This time, it’s a popular dish found at many Japanese restaurants all over the world. It’s tonkatsu, which is a thin, deep-fried cutlet of pork. Also, the vocabulary section is a little different than usual. After our hiragana lessons, you should be able to read hiragana, so no romaji will be provided. But if you get stumped, check the comments section for the correct readings. Anyway, let’s get cooking!
とんかつ – Tonkatsu
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
| English |
Japanese |
| 4 pieces of tonkatsu pork (thin pork loin cutlets) |
豚ロース肉（とんカツ用） ４枚 |
| Dash of salt |
塩 少々 |
| Dash of pepper |
こしょう 少々 |
| Flour (as needed) |
小麦粉 適量 |
| 2 eggs |
卵 ２個 |
| Panko (as needed) |
パン粉 適量 |
| Frying oil (as needed) |
揚げ油 適量 |
| 2 cabbage leaves |
キャベツ ２枚 |
| 4 tomato wedges |
トマトのくし形切り ４個 |
| 4 lemon wedges |
レモンのくし形切り ４個 |
| 1 stalk parsley (small) |
パセリ（小） １本 |
| 6 Tbsp tonkatsu sauce (sold in Japanese and Asian grocery stores) |
とんカツソース 大さじ６ |
| 4 Tbsp ketchup |
トマトケチャップ 大さじ４ |
| 2 tsp + 4 tsp mustard (type not specified, so yellow would be fine I think) |
マスタード 小さじ２＋小さじ４ |
Preparation:
In a small pot, add 6 Tbsp tonkatsu sauce, 4 Tbsp ketchup, and 2 tsp mustard. Stirring constantly, heat under low heat until warm.
Cut the cabbage leaves into thin strips, then briefly soak in a bowl of cold water. Drain and set aside.
Using a pestle or rolling pin wrapped in plastic wrap, lightly pound the meat until it’s flattened to a even thickness throughout. With a knife, lightly make 3-4 horizontal indentations into each piece of meat, making sure each cut goes through both the muscle and fat. Season the top of each cutlet with some salt and pepper. Discard the plastic wrap.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then set aside.
Prepare three separate plates with flour on one, panko on the next, and the beaten eggs on the other. Dip the pork into the flour mixture, coat evenly, then shake off the excess. Next, dip the meat into the eggs. Then place the pork into the panko and make sure that it’s coated evenly. Do the same for all 4 pieces.
Take a cookie sheet or other flat pan and line it with a layer of paper towels. In a pot suitable for frying (deep and heavy), heat the frying oil until it reaches 160°C (320°F). Use a kitchen or candy thermometer, or test the oil by dropping in a small piece of bread. If it turns brown quickly, the oil is ready. The Japanese recipe suggests sticking dried cooking chopsticks into the oil. When bubbles rise from the wood, the oil is hot enough. Gently place a piece of breaded pork into the oil, but beware of splashing! Fry until the meat rises to the surface of the oil and the frying sounds begin to sound “metallic.” (This is what the Japanese recipe says. I would let it fry until it’s a nice golden brown.) Lift the meat from the oil using a strainer, and place on the paper towel-lined pan. Repeat with the rest of the pieces of pork.
Cut each fried piece of pork horizontally into small bite-sized strips. Plate next to the rinsed cabbage, and serve with the lemon, tomato, and parsley as garnishes. Serve with the tonkatsu sauce mixture and 4 tsp of mustard (divided).
Vocabulary:
| Japanese |
Hiragana Reading |
Meaning |
| 塩 |
しお |
Salt |
| 卵 |
たまご |
Egg(s) |
| パン粉 |
ぱんこ |
Panko (Japanese bread crumbs that can be found in most grocery stores) |
| キャベツ |
きゃべつ |
Cabbage |
| パセリ |
ぱせり |
Parsley |
| なべ |
なべ |
A cooking pot or pan; saucepan |
| すり鉢＆すりこ木 |
すりばち＆すりこぎ |
Mortar and pestle (this recipe called for a pestle instead of a rolling pin. Odd!) |
| ザル |
ざる |
Colander |
| バット |
ばっと |
A shallow pan a bit deeper than a cookie sheet; tray |
| ラップ |
らっぷ |
Plastic wrap |
| キッチンペーパー |
きっちんぺーぱー |
Paper towels |
| せん切りにする |
せんきりにする |
To cut into thin strips |
| さらす |
さらす |
To soak; rinse (at least in this recipe? The dictionary told me it meant “to bleach”) |
| 水をきる |
みずをきる |
To drain water (from) |
| 厚み |
あつみ |
Thickness; depth |
| ほぐす |
ほぐす |
To quickly loosen or separate (in the Roast Chinjao recipe, this verb was used to describe quickly stirring meat in a pan. This time, it’s used for eggs, i.e. “To beat”) |
| 溶き卵 |
ときたまご |
Beaten egg(s) |
| そえる |
そえる |
To attach; to accompany; to garnish |
しお = shio
たまご = tamago
ぱんこ = panko
きゃべつ = kyabetsu
ぱせり = paseri
なべ = nabe
すりばち＆すりこぎ = suribachi to surikogi (& is read as と in Japanese)
ざる = zaru
ばっと = batto
らっぷ = rappu
きっちんぺーぱー = kicchin peipaa
せんきりにする = senkiri ni suru
さらす = sarasu
みずをきる = mizu o kiru
あつみ = atsumi
ほぐす = hogusu
ときたまご = toki-tamago
そえる = soeru