tonkatsu

[helenjp]

we accept his offer, rather reluctantly

If you accept his offers now, while it's still easier to do it yourself than to let him help, he'll cook your dinners for years to come, long after he's become a great cook..

[BarbaraY]

I once again made Tonkatsu for dinner last night. No photo because I let the batteries on the camera run down.

I jumped the gun on this because I ordered from my San Francisco source and expected the order in yesterday. I ordered Bulldog sauce and wanted to try it but since I had the meat ready to go I just went ahead and made it and used the sauce that I already had.

[tantan]

My friend told me about a restaurant serving tonkatsu which uses sesame oil to fry the cutlet. I'm addicted to anything cooked in sesame oil, and also a tonkatsu addict, so would love to try it but not going to "waste" that much precious sesame oil just on one dish.

Has anyone else tried it? My friend also said that in the restaurant, the chef uses his bare hands to turn the cutlet! I'm not sure how that works....

[Hiroyuki]

My friend also said that in the restaurant, the chef uses his bare hands to turn the cutlet! I'm not sure how that works.... 

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I saw such a chef on TV shows several times, but it was a long time ago, probably in my twenties if I remember correctly. I don't know how he did it either. I did a quick google search but found no information.

[BarbaraY]

You would be surprised how many cooks can do this. The trick is to be very quick and not grasp the item tightly. It's more of a flip than an actual pick up.

I can do it with things that aren't very fatty but I doubt that I would do it with tonkatsu. I can do it with lean steaks.

I don't do it anymore since I have retired because my hands are too soft now.

My friend told me about a restaurant serving tonkatsu which uses sesame oil to fry the cutlet. I'm addicted to anything cooked in sesame oil, and also a tonkatsu addict, so would love to try it but not going to "waste" that much precious sesame oil just on one dish.

I wouldn't us sesame oil to fry in. Aside from the fact that it is very expensive, I think it would overwhelm the flavor of the meat. I prefer to use it as a finishing oil.

[_john]

I think the flipping something that is deep frying with your hand is a little tricky. if your hand was moist, not wet, and you flipped it quickly the moisture on your hand might turn to steam and create a layer of steam that would protect you. This is the same principal which lets you walk on hot coals, and hot molten lead in your mouth. Needless to say I am not going to try it. I flip things that are not deep frying with my hands all the time, when I was working full time as a chef the tip of my thumb and index finger on my right hand actually lost some feeling ("hands of asbestos") from doing this so often with hot food.

I think sesame oil for frying in Japan is often a blend of refined sesame oil and soybean/canola oil. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. I use regular salad oil with a generous amount of sesame oil blended in, the taste seems just about the same as what you would get at a tonkatsu restaurant.

[BarbaraY]

I had one of my daughters taking care of my house and pets while I was away for a couple of days and found she had left us one of those huge chicken breasts. I pounded it thin and made katsu with it. (Torikatsu?)

It was OK but not nearly as good as the pork. If I were to do this again, I would use some garlic on the chicken, as Kris mentioned and maybe put some sesame oil into the frying oil.

[Hiroyuki]

I had one of my daughters taking care of my house and pets while I was away for a couple of days and found she had left us one of those huge chicken breasts. I pounded it thin and made katsu with it. (Torikatsu?)

It was OK but not nearly as good as the pork. If I were to do this again, I would use some garlic on the chicken, as Kris mentioned and maybe put some sesame oil into the frying oil.

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Torikatsu is OK, but we more often say chikin (Japanese pronunciation of chicken) katsu. Chicken katsu is good by itself. I like it.

[prasantrin]

Torikatsu is OK, but we more often say chikin (Japanese pronunciation of chicken) katsu.  Chicken katsu is good by itself.  I like it.

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I love chicken katsu, and actually prefer it to tonkatsu. Tonkatsu will sometimes be too dry and chewy, while chicken katsu is, to me, more consistent in its texture. Plus who doesn't love fried chicken skin? Some of my friends, though, complain that we go to Katsukura and I order chicken katsu--"We're going to a tonkatsu place and you order chicken katsu?????" they say. But hey, I'm the one who introduced them to Katsukura, so I think I can order whatever the hell I want!

[Majra]

I made tonkatsu last weekend at my kids' request. It was a real treat--I used pork tenderloin, and the result was nothing even close to dry or chewy. Quite juicy and tender, in fact! I seasoned the meat with garlic salt before breading. Served with bottled sauce, grainy mustard, thinly sliced cabbage, and steamed rice. The family was psyched. Unfortunately my gallbladder was pinching quite fiercerly after the fried food...no tonkatsu for me for a while.

[torakris]

Torikatsu is OK, but we more often say chikin (Japanese pronunciation of chicken) katsu.  Chicken katsu is good by itself.  I like it.

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I love chicken katsu, and actually prefer it to tonkatsu. Tonkatsu will sometimes be too dry and chewy, while chicken katsu is, to me, more consistent in its texture. Plus who doesn't love fried chicken skin? Some of my friends, though, complain that we go to Katsukura and I order chicken katsu--"We're going to a tonkatsu place and you order chicken katsu?????" they say. But hey, I'm the one who introduced them to Katsukura, so I think I can order whatever the hell I want!

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chicken katsu is a wonderful dish, especially if the chicken is pounded flat and rolled around a shiso leaf and some ume paste...

[torakris]

I made tonkatsu last weekend at my kids' request.  It was a real treat--I used pork tenderloin, and the result was nothing even close to dry or chewy.  Quite juicy and tender, in fact!  I seasoned the meat with garlic salt before breading.  Served with bottled sauce, grainy mustard, thinly sliced cabbage, and steamed rice.  The family was psyched.  Unfortunately my gallbladder was pinching quite fiercerly after the fried food...no tonkatsu for me for a while. 

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I am the same, in both ways.

I prefer the tenderloin for tonkatsu and my body has issues with me afterwards...

[prasantrin]

Yesterday my mother and I went to Kimukatsu for a late lunch. I had the Genkatsudon, which is their katsudon cut into cubes in a bowl of rice, topped with an onsen tamago . Looking at their website, I think I should have had a beverage and dessert with my meal, but I didn't.

My mother had the Ladies Set, which was a bento with simmered kabocha, potato salad, cabbage, chicken sasami stuffed with cheese and pork katsu stuffed with tofu. She got dessert, which I think was almond doufu.

Both meals came with rice and miso soup, and mine had tsukemono while my mother's didn't.

I loved the katsudon, but at Y1300 it's a bit expensive. My mother's meal was a better bargain, I thought, at Y1400. We had a late lunch (eating around 2:30), so that meal ended up being our dinner, too, since we were both too full to eat anything else.

If anyone wants to eat at Kimukatsu, I suggest going for lunch rather than dinner. The genkatsudon is only available for lunch, as are the bento-type sets, and the prices are a much better value. Most of the a la carte katsu are available at lunch, too.

[Hiroyuki]

So, where is your Kimukatsu located? Kanto or Kansai? And, is it a chain or what?

[prasantrin]

Kimukatsu is a chain based in the Kanto area. Torakris has discussed it in this topic before, and I think she was the first to mention it (quite some time ago, if I remember correctly). The Kimukatsu I visited was in Kobe.

[Hiroyuki]

Kimukatsu is a chain based in the Kanto area.  Torakris has discussed it in this topic before, and I think she was the first to mention it (quite some time ago, if I remember correctly).  The Kimukatsu I visited was in Kobe.

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Thanks, I should have googled first:

http://www.kimukatsu.com/index.html

The site says that they started their business in 2002. No wonder I know nothing about them.

[Davydd]

Tonkatsu seems very similar to a United States Heartland area deep fried breaded pork tenderloin with sauce instead of a sandwich bun. I am going to have to seek out a Japanese restaurant that serves tonkastu.

[rykomatsu]

one of my friends said this was blasphemous, but...i prefer my tonkatsu with soysauce rather than tonkatsu sauce...anyone else in the same boat? >.>

[Hiroyuki]

one of my friends said this was blasphemous, but...i prefer my tonkatsu with soysauce rather than tonkatsu sauce...anyone else in the same boat? >.>

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I was like that friend of yours when I was small, but not with tonkatsu but with korokke. Somehow, I grew out of that habit when I got older.

[rykomatsu]

I was like that friend of yours when I was small, but not with tonkatsu but with korokke.  Somehow, I grew out of that habit when I got older.

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i eat my korokke with soysauce too sauce is just...too sweet for me

[_john]

I sometimes eat korokke and tonkatsu with "sauce" not tonkatsu sauce or soy sauce but "sauce". It tastes a lot like Worcestershire sauce but is a little bit different. If anything it tastes like a version of tonkatsu sauce that is much more liquid. There is usually a small bottle of it on the tables of teishoku places next to the soy sauce. Do you have sauce in Kanto too?

Edited December 15, 2007 by _john (log)

[Hiroyuki]

I sometimes eat korokke and tonkatsu with "sauce" not tonkatsu sauce or soy sauce but "sauce". It tastes a lot like Worcestershire sauce but is a little bit different. If anything it tastes like a version of tonkatsu sauce that is much more liquid. There is usually a small bottle of it on the tables of teishoku places next to the soy sauce. Do you have sauce in Kanto too?

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Yes, in almost all teishoku ya 定食屋 in Kanto, too. Personally, I don't like it because it quickly seeps through the korokke and other fried item.

[nakji]

Last month, my husband and I took a weekend trip to Hakone to see the fall colours, and to try to achieve "boiled octopus". We had a great time, and happened across a great tonkatsu place for lunch in Gora. There was a line-up outside, and the small shop held only eight seats around a counter.

The cook was wearing a butcher coat, and a sticker on the otherwise discreet facade of the building proclaimed some sort of affiliation with what looked like a pork production board. Through the window, I could see one woman hand slicing cabbage. It seemed like a good sign. We waited 40 minutes (which seems to be something of a rite of passage in the Tokyo area - the longer you wait, the better it must be!) for our turn at the counter. We amused ourselves by watching steam come out of the sewer grates. When our turn came, we went in and took our seats. No one spoke, and I knew I was in the presence of greatness. The pork steaks, taken from the refrigerator, were thick and fresh. The chef took his time with each one as we watched, dipping it in egg, then flour, then panko. The ladies of the shop offered green tea as we waited, along with a tofu dish....

We ordered rosukatsu (what cut is that, anyway?), and were not disappointed. The hirekatsu was out of our price range, at 2,500 yen.

The sauce was not your standard Bulldog, but was obviously handmade and sooooo flavourful, I'd love to make it myself. Anyone have their own recipes for homemade tonkatsu sauce?