Although they can be made with any meat, seafood or vegetable, one of my favorites is katsudon. The “katsu” is short for tonkatsu (a pork cutlet coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried) and “don” (pronounced like “don’t” without the “t”) is an abbreviation for donburi. It’s a popular lunchtime meal in Japan and the best part is that this katsudon recipe can be made with leftover tonkatsu from the night before. The panko breadcrumb coating on the pork cutlets absorbs the sweet and savory sauce, while sautéed onions add big flavor to the dish. The beaten egg not only binds everything together, it also absorbs the flavors in the sauce before percolating them into the rice below. Eaten together, pork katsudon is luscious, meaty, savory and sweet, and has the remarkable ability to satisfy a handful of cravings in one bite. Like any comfort food, I don’t stray too far from the standard preparation and ingredients, but I do employ a few small tricks to make the standard pork katsudon even better. The first thing is to add a bit of potato starch to the sauce; it lends a barely-perceptible viscosity that helps the sauce cling to the tonkatsu and rice, rather than running straight to the bottom of the bowl. The second thing is to flip the tonkatsu after you add the sauce. This ensures the tonkatsu is well-seasoned on both top and bottom. Lastly, I usually cook the egg until it’s just a bit less done than I want it to be as it will continue to cook as you assemble the rice bowl and carry it to the table.
📖 Recipe
