Menchi-katsu Sando (メンチカツサンド, minced-pork cutlet sandwich)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy pot for frying
• •Cooking thermometer or instant-read thermometer
• •Oil-draining tray (abura-kiri), or a wire rack set over a sheet pan
• •Sharp serrated knife for cutting the sandwiches

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the cabbage

   Shred the cabbage as finely as you can, then rinse it in cold water and drain it well. Spin it dry, or wrap it in a clean towel and press gently. The cabbage should be crisp and dry, because water turns sauce into a puddle and makes the bread tired before the first bite.

2. 2

   Cook the onion

   Warm the teaspoon of oil in a small pan and cook the minced onion over medium-low heat until translucent and sweet-smelling, about 5 minutes. Let it cool completely. Raw onion can weep inside the patty and make the crust split; cooked onion gives sweetness without that little sabotage.

3. 3

   Bind the pork

   Stir the 1/2 cup panko with the milk and let it soften while the onion cools. Put the pork and salt in a cold bowl and knead with your hand until the meat turns tacky and slightly stringy, 1 to 2 minutes. Salt makes the pork proteins bind, and that binding traps juice. Add the cooled onion, soaked panko, egg, white pepper, and nutmeg if using, then mix just until even.

4. 4

   Shape the patties

   Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form thick ovals, each just a little larger than the bread slices. Pass each patty gently from hand to hand a few times to push out trapped air, then chill for 10 minutes. Air pockets expand in the oil and split the crust; cold patties hold their shape better.

5. 5

   Bread the cutlets

   Set out the flour, beaten eggs, and 2 cups panko in three shallow dishes. Coat each patty lightly in flour, shake off the excess, dip in egg, then cover with panko and press gently so the crumbs cling. Flour dries the surface, egg glues the crumbs, and panko gives the open, crisp crust. Bare patches leak juice.

6. 6

   Fry the menchi

   Heat 5cm of oil in a heavy pot to 170 C, or 340 F. Fry 2 patties at a time, turning once, until deep gold and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes total. Keep the oil between 165 and 175 C, and check that the center reaches 71 C, or 160 F. Rest the cutlets on a rack for 3 minutes so the crust stays crisp and the juices settle.

7. 7

   Sauce the bread

   Trim the shokupan crusts if you want the neat shop look. Spread a very thin layer of butter on the inner faces if using, then spread tonkatsu sauce or chūnō sauce over the bread. Add a little karashi if you like its sharpness. The butter is not decoration; used lightly, it keeps the sauce from flooding the crumb while still letting the warm cutlet season the bread.

8. 8

   Press and cut

   Set cabbage on 4 bread slices, place one warm menchi-katsu on each, spoon a little more sauce over the cutlet, and close the sandwiches. Lay a board on top and press lightly for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut each sandwich in half or thirds with a clean serrated knife, wiping between cuts. Cut warm and the bread drinks a little juice; cut too soon and the juice runs out, wait too long and the crust loses its edge.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for ground pork with some fat in it, not the leanest packet in the case. Pork shoulder ground coarse is ideal. A dry patty is usually a sourcing problem first and a cooking problem second.
• •Fresh Japanese panko, nama panko, gives the most open crust. Dry panko works, but don't crush it into dust. The size of the crumb is what lets the crust stay light.
• •Use Japanese tonkatsu sauce or chūnō sauce if you can. A sensible stand-in is equal parts Worcestershire sauce and ketchup with a little soy sauce and sugar, simmered briefly, but don't pretend it's the same thing.
• •Do not crowd the pot. Two patties at a time keeps the oil steady, and steady oil is what gives you a crisp crust instead of a greasy one.
• •If the pork smells sour or looks watery, change the plan. There is no sauce strong enough to make tired meat honest.

Advance Preparation

• •The onion can be cooked a day ahead and refrigerated.
• •The shaped, unbreaded patties can be covered and chilled up to 8 hours ahead. Bread them just before frying so the panko stays dry.
• •The cabbage can be shredded, rinsed, and dried up to 4 hours ahead. Keep it wrapped in a towel in the refrigerator.
• •Menchi-katsu sando is best assembled after frying. If you must hold the fried cutlets, keep them on a rack and assemble within 30 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)