Tonkatsu Fried Pork Tenderloin with Panko

Tonkatsu

Difficulty

Ingredients (Serves 4): 400 g pork tenderloin
1/4 head cabbage
1/2 lemon
watercress
salt
pepper

vegetable oil for deep frying
flour
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vegetable oil
panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

chef Saito's tonkatsu sauce
100 ml dashi
50 ml worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp potato starch (dissolved in water)

karashi Japanese mustard

Directions

1. Cut the pork into 3 cm-thick slices and beat gently with the flat of your knife to flatten them.

2. Lightly season both sides of each slice of pork with salt and pepper.

3. Shred the cabbage and cut the watercress into bite-sized pieces, then let both sit in cold water until crisp. Cut the lemon into wedges.

4. Beat the egg in a bowl, then add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to the beaten egg.

5. Dredge the slices of pork in flour, then dip in egg and loosely coat in panko bread crumbs.

6. Deep fry the pork in oil heated to 150–160°C until fully cooked through, then remove.

7. Heat the oil to 180°C, then briefly fry the pork again until fragrant.

8. In a pot, combine all of the sauce ingredients except the potato starch. Heat to a boil. When it comes to a boil, pour in the potato starch and mix in to thicken the sauce. Then allow to cool.

9. Drain the cabbage and watercress. Arrange the fried tonkatsu on top of the shredded cabbage, and garnish with watercress, lemon, and karashi Japanese mustard. Add sauce to taste.