MISO KATSU

Tonkatsu is usually known to be served with a tangy and sweet sauce, however in Nagoya, people enjoy eating Tonkatsu with a miso base sauce which is made of a dark red miso paste called Hatcho Miso. This miso is not your ordinary red, white or awase miso (mix of red and white). Hatcho Miso is traditionally made of 100% soybeans with no grains, rice and wheat are added. It is dark reddish brown and has a really intense, bold and rich flavour with good umami.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cabbage (to serve fresh with Miso Katsu)
• 4 pcs (120g each pcs) of 1cm thick beef or pork loin chops (boneless)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup Japanese panko breadcrumbs
• 4 cups cooking oil

MISO SAUCE:

• 1 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• ½ cup dashi
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp hatcho red miso (or red miso)

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HOW TO MAKE

1. Thinly slice or shred the cabbage with a shredder into thin slices. Wash under cold running water and drain completely. Keep it cool in the fridge.
2. To make miso sauce, heat 1 tbsp mirin and 2 tbsp sake in a small saucepan over high heat and let the alcohol evaporate. Then lower the heat and add 2 tbsp. sugar, ½ cup dashi, and 3 tbsp Hatcho Miso.
3. Combine well with a silicone spatula. Cook for 3 mins on low heat, stir frequently to avoid burning on the bottom of the saucepan. Turn off the heat and set aside when the sauce is thickened.
4. To make the Tonkatsu, remove excessive fat from each pork loin and make a couple of slits on the sides where the connective tissue is between the meat and fat. This is because red meat and fat have different elasticity, and they will shrink and expand at different rates cooked. This will prevent meat from curling up and will allow the meat to stay flat when deep frying.
5. Pound the meat with a meat pounder, or you may prefer to use the back of the knife to pound. Using your hands, mold the extended meat back into original shape.
6. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.
7. Whisk together 1 large egg and 1 tbsp water in a large bowl. Prepare panko breadcrumbs in a separate plate.
8. Place flour in a bowl and coat pork loin with flour. Remove excess flour.
9. Then dip in egg mixture, followed by coating with panko breadcrumbs. After removing excess breadcrumbs, press the loin gently.
10. Heat oil in a pot over medium high heat and wait till oil reaches 180°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, stick a chopstick in the oil and see if tiny bubbles start to appear around the tip of the chopstick. Alternatively, you can drop one piece of panko into the oil, and if it sinks down to the middle of oil and comes right up, then that’s around 180°C as well.
11. When the oil reaches to that temperature, gently lower the pork loin into the oil. Make sure that the oil does not go over 180°C or the pork katsu will look burnt.
12. Deep fry for 1 min on one side and flip to cook the other side for 1min. Reduce to 45 secs for each side your meat is thinner than 1cm.
13. Remove meat from pot and hold it vertically for a few seconds to remove excess oil. Place on top of wire rack, or paper towel and let it sit for 4 mins. There is no need to check whether the inside is cooked or not at this stage.
14. After resting for 4 mins, bring the oil back to 180°C and deep fry the meat for 30 secs on each side.
15. Poke the meat with a chopstick and if clear liquid comes out then it’s done. Drain the oil by holding the meat vertically again for a few seconds. Then leave it on top of a wire rack or paper towel for 2 mins. If you are using a paper towel, keep the meat in a vertical position so that the other side does not get soggy.
16. Cut the Tonkatsu into large pieces, lengthwise by pressing the knife directly down instead of moving back and forth. This way the breadcrumbs will stay intact. Plate the Tonkatsu and serve with the fresh cabbage on the side. You may like to pour the sauce just before serving or you may serve the sauce on the side.
17. The sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or alternatively you may freeze it. You can also use this sauce for marinating other meat such as fish or use as a dipping sauce for hot pot and steamed vegetables.