How to Cook Katsu Pork

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 25 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients needed to make Katsu Pork:

• 450 gm pork fillets, trimmed and chopped into 8 pieces
• 100 gm panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg white
• 200 gm sushi rice, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• Pickled ginger, for serving
• Few fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnishing

For the sauce:

• 1 Braeburn apples, peeled , cored and coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 350 ml chicken stock

Cooking instructions for Katsu Pork:

• For the sauce, drizzle a lashing of vegetable oil in a large skillet and throw in the apple chunks, carrot and onion.
• Place a lid on top and sweat them for about 10 minutes, stirring twice in between, until they turn soft.
• Remove the lid and stir in the garlic to cook the mixture over slightly increased heat for another minute.
• Sprinkle a dash of ground ginger as well as curry powder and stir them all together to mix well.
• Cook for another minute and pour in a splash of honey, tomato puree and soy sauce.
• Dust the mixture with cornflour and give it a nice stir until well combined.
• Stir in the broth and bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Continue to cook likewise for about 5 mins or until the veggies soften completely and the sauce thickens.
• Tip the sauce into a blender and pulse it into a smooth puree.
• Drizzle a lashing of sesame oil, adjust the seasonings and blitz further for few seconds to blend them into the pureed sauce.
• To make the katsu pork, sandwich the pork fillets between two plastic sheets and pound them with a rolling pin to flatten them out into 1 cm thickness.
• Place the crumbs in a shallow bowl and stir in a dash of seasonings, ground turmeric and a lashing of oil until well combined.
• Place the egg white in a separate bowl and beat it thoroughly until it froths up slightly.
• Place the rice in a large pot and pour in 400 ml water.
• Sprinkle a pinch of salt into it and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Place a lid on top and reduce it to a simmer.
• Cook for about 10 minutes and turn off the heat; drain into a bowl and set aside.
• Warm up your oven t0 degrees 220 degrees C.
• Lower each flattened pork strips into the beaten egg and transfer them to the bowl with seasoned crumbs.
• Roll them over the breadcrumbs to dredge evenly on either side and arrange them on a baking tray.
• Once all the pork strips receive their coating, place them in the hot oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until they turn crispy golden brown.
• Serve warm alongside a bowl of rice and prepared sauce.

 Image credit: Wikimedia Commons