Sauce Katsudon (ソースカツ丼, Fukui sauce-dipped pork cutlet)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep heavy pot or wok for frying
• •Kitchen thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Donburi bowls
• •Meat pounder, or the bottom of a small heavy pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the sauce

   Combine the Worcestershire-style sauce, dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake in a small pan. Bring it just to a simmer, stir until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat. The sauce should taste sharp first, then sweet and savory; the rice will soften it, so don't make it timid.

   Dashi gives the sauce a quiet backbone. Without it, the sauce can taste like sweetness and vinegar sitting on top of the cutlet instead of belonging to the bowl.
2. 2

   Prepare the pork

   Pat the pork dry, then pound each cutlet to about 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and white pepper. Thin pork is the Fukui way, and it matters: the meat cooks quickly, so the panko can turn crisp and pale gold before the pork dries out.

3. 3

   Bread the cutlets

   Dredge each cutlet lightly in flour, tap off the excess, pass it through the beaten egg, then press it into the panko. Keep the coating even but not thick. Flour helps the egg grip, egg holds the crumbs, and the crumbs give you the surface that will drink the sauce for one brief moment.

4. 4

   Fry until crisp

   Heat the oil to 170 C, or 340 F. Fry the cutlets one at a time until the coating is crisp and golden, about 2 minutes per side. Listen for the bubbling to quiet slightly; that tells you the surface moisture is leaving and the crust is setting. Drain on a rack, not paper, so the underside stays crisp.

5. 5

   Dip and slice

   While the cutlets are still hot, dip each one quickly into the warm sauce, turning once, then lift it out at once. Slice into broad strips if you like, or leave each thin cutlet whole in the Fukui manner. The quick dip is the detail that decides the bowl: enough sauce to season, not enough time to soften the crust.

6. 6

   Build the bowl

   Fill each donburi with hot rice, leaving room at the rim. Spoon a little sauce over the rice, then lay the cutlet on top. Add a small amount of shredded cabbage only if you want that local shop-counter feeling, and serve karashi on the side. Eat while the crust still has its bite and the rice is catching the dark sauce below.

Chef Tips

• •Use pork loin with a little fat at the edge, not a thick chop. The fat keeps the cutlet tender, and the thin shape is what lets the crust and meat finish together.
• •Keep panko loose and airy. If you crush it into the pork, the coating fries dense and takes the sauce poorly. Press just enough to make it hold.
• •A wire rack beats paper towels after frying. Paper traps moisture underneath, and moisture is the enemy you just spent ten minutes driving away.
• •Don't confuse a sensible stand-in with the dish itself. A good bottled Japanese Worcestershire-style sauce is proper here; instant dashi in the sauce is a weaker trade if you have real dashi within reach.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be made three days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before dipping the cutlets, because cold sauce dulls the crust and cools the bowl too quickly.
• •The pork can be pounded and seasoned a few hours ahead, then kept covered in the refrigerator. Bread it just before frying so the panko stays dry.
• •Cook the rice so it finishes as the cutlets fry. This bowl depends on hot rice, warm sauce, and a cutlet that has not had time to slump.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 420g)