Katsu Karē (カツカレー, cutlet curry)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker, or a heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Wide heavy pot for the curry
• •Three shallow trays for flour, egg, and panko
• •Deep heavy pot or high-sided frying pan
• •Frying thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the rice

   Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swirl it with your hand, and pour off the cloudy water. Repeat until the water is nearly clear, then drain for 10 minutes and cook with 2 1/4 cups water in a rice cooker or heavy pot. Wash it twice, wash it thrice: the loose starch is what makes rice gum together, and this dish needs grains that can take curry without turning heavy.

2. 2

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 4 cups cold water and warm it slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu when small bubbles begin to climb the sides, before the water boils. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and let the flakes sink for 2 minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine sieve and let it drip without pressing.

   Boiling the konbu makes the stock bitter and slick. Squeezing the bonito flakes pushes out strong, oily flavors. The rule is only the shortest way to say protect the clarity.
3. 3

   Start the curry

   Heat 2 tablespoons neutral oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of the salt, then cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until they are soft and lightly golden. Add the carrot and potato and stir for a minute. Pour in 3 1/2 cups of the dashi, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook until the vegetables are just tender, about 15 minutes. The onion gives the curry its sweetness, so don't rush it into sharpness.

4. 4

   Dissolve the roux

   Turn off the heat. Break the curry roux blocks into small pieces and stir them into the hot broth until fully dissolved. Return the pot to low heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring from the bottom, until the curry turns glossy and coats a spoon. Taste before adding soy sauce and chūnō sauce. The roux carries salt already, and a careful cook seasons after tasting, not before.

   Add roux off the heat. Dropped into a boiling pot, it can clump at once or sink and scorch before it melts.
5. 5

   Prepare the pork

   Pat the pork dry. Make a few small cuts through the band of fat and connective tissue along the edge, then flatten each chop gently to an even thickness. Season both sides with the remaining salt and the white pepper. Those little cuts are not decoration. They keep the pork from curling in the oil, so the whole cutlet cooks evenly.

6. 6

   Bread the cutlets

   Set out three shallow trays: flour, beaten egg, and panko. Dust each pork chop lightly in flour and shake off the excess, dip it in egg, then press it into panko so the crumbs cling in an even coat. Rest the breaded cutlets for 5 to 10 minutes. Flour dries the surface, egg gives the crumbs something to hold, and the short rest helps the coating stay with the meat instead of floating away in the oil.

7. 7

   Fry the katsu

   Heat 3cm of neutral oil in a deep pot to 170 C / 340 F. Fry the cutlets two at a time, about 3 minutes per side, until the panko is deep golden and the pork reaches 63 C / 145 F in the center. Rest on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Oil that is too cool makes the crust drink; oil that is too hot browns the crumbs before the pork is done. The thermometer is not fussy. It is honest.

8. 8

   Slice and plate

   Mound the rice on one side of each deep oval plate and spoon the curry beside it, letting it touch the rice but not flood the plate. Slice each cutlet crosswise into bars and lay it over the rice and curry so one edge of the crust stays dry. Add fukujinzuke at the side. Serve with a spoon. The cutlet is sliced before it reaches the table because katsu karē is eaten by the spoonful, but the dry edge keeps the pork from becoming only textureless comfort.

Chef Tips

• •Choose pork loin with a clean smell, pale pink flesh, and a firm white edge of fat. Curry is not there to hide tired meat. If the pork smells stale, change the dish.
• •Japanese curry roux blocks are not a confession of defeat here. They are the household form of this yōshoku curry. Pick one with a clear spice smell and use restraint with extra seasonings.
• •Use coarse fresh panko if you can find it. The larger flakes make a lighter crust because they leave small spaces for the hot oil to pass through, instead of forming a hard shell.
• •This is not a narrow shun dish, but the vegetables still matter. New potatoes in spring make a sweeter curry; firm autumn potatoes hold their shape well. Use what is good in front of you.
• •Plate the curry with some mercy for the cutlet. Sauce half of it, not all of it. A spoonful with rice, gravy, pork, and one crisp edge is the reason the dish works.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Keep it covered, and warm it gently before making the curry.
• •The curry can be made 1 to 2 days ahead. It thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a splash of dashi or water over low heat.
• •The pork can be breaded up to 2 hours ahead and kept uncovered in the refrigerator. Fry it close to serving; a fried cutlet waits poorly, and it will tell on you.
• •Cook the rice close to serving if you can. If it is done early, keep it covered and warm rather than reheating it hard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 780g)