Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu is pork cutlet in Japanese. Fancy name, but it is just breaded pork chops. The difference lies in the marinade. I was a bit hesitant to make this at first, thinking that son wouldn't eat it because of the soy sauce marinade, but decided to do it anyway. Much to my delight, he loved it. Hubby loved it too, saying that the pork chops weren't dry, and they're very tasty.

What you need:

• 6 pieces thinly-sliced pork chops
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup (or more) Panko breadcrumbs
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• vegetable oil for frying

What to do:

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil. Mix well. Add the pork chops and let them marinate overnight, or at least an hour.

Prepare three bowls. Beat the egg in one bowl, then add milk and garlic powder. Set aside. In the other bowls put flour in one and Panko breadcrumbs in the other, making an assembly line of sorts.

Heat around 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Take a piece of marinated pork chop and dredge it in flour, then in the egg mix, then the Panko breadcrumbs. Put it in the hot pan. Do the same with the remaining pork chops. Cook for about 1-2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your pork chops. Keep an eye on your meat as the breadcrumbs burn pretty easily.

Drain on a cooling rack and serve hot!


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Make sure that the oil is hot before you put in the meat, otherwise the Panko breadcrums will absorb a lot of oil.
2. You can also use thick-sliced pork chops, but I find that thin-sliced ones are better since they absorb the marinade more.
3. Add more red pepper flakes if you want some heat in your chops.
4. Hoisin sauce makes for a good dip!