Hello! I'm still here!
Open me for a pork tonkatsu recipe
Wow okay sorry my newsletter went MIA for the past four months or so. In the last one I mentioned I had quit my job and I can happily say I am still plodding along with my own thing, cooking, filming, photographing and going through a broad range of emotions every day/week.
But that’s showbiz baby!!!!!
Overall, I really have been enjoying it. I’ve got more time to work on the things I love, but also more time to procrastinate - hence the delay in sending out my newsletter. Sorry.
I’m coming at you this month with a recipe for Pork Tonkatsu. This is a dish I cook quite regularly, because I truly love it. A crispy, golden crumbed pork cutlet with a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce sitting on a bed of slightly sticky, short grain rice. Finely shredded cabbage salad and a sesame dressing. It’s simple but is is perfection. Like a slicked back ponytail. Recipe below.
PORK TONKATSU
Serves 2
2 pork cutlets, bone removed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4c plain flour
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Neutral oil, for shallow frying
For serving
1/4 small cabbage
2 cups cooked short grain rice
1 spring onion, sliced
Tonkatsu sauce (I use Bulldog brand)
Sesame dressing (I use Kewpie brand)
Place pork cutlets between two pieces of grease-proof paper. Using a meat tenderiser, or a rolling pin, pound until approximately 1.5 centimetres thick. Season each side with salt and pepper.
Lay out flour, egg and breadcrumbs in three separate containers. Dip each seasoned pork cutlet into flour first, shaking off any excess. Dredge in the whisked egg, again allowing excess to drip away. Finally, place into panko breadcrumbs and pat down on each side creating a nice, even coat. Repeat with second pork cutlet.
Heat oil in a frypan over medium-high heat. Pour enough in to shallow fry your cutlets. Test the oil by dropping in a single bread crumb to make sure it is hot enough. If it is ready, the oil will sizzle.
Pan fry pork cutlets for approximately two minutes on each side. Adjust the heat if necessary. You don’t want your cutlets to burn! They should be crunchy and golden on the outside and just cooked through on the inside. Once cooked, set aside on a wire rack or paper towel to rest.
Prepare the cabbage salad by finely slicing with a mandolin. Divide among two serving plates, along with hot steamed rice.
Slice pork cutlet into two centimetre wide pieces and place on top of the rice. Drizzle cutlet with tonkatsu sauce and salad with sesame dressing. Sprinkle with sliced spring onion to serve.
🍷 Suggested drinks pairing:
Usually I suggest wine, but for pork tonkatsu my drinks recommendation is either a crisp and refreshing lager, or a whiskey highball. Light and fizzy is my personal choice for this one. If you’re really keen on a wine though, I’d suggest an off-dry riesling.
The Crumbs…
Catch up on what I’ve been doing this month (…the past 4 months hehe):
📖 READ: In the past four months I may not have been posting, but girl let me tell you, I’ve been reading! I’m 27 books into my yearly goal and some of my favouries of the year so far: Bunny (Mona Awad), the whole Thursday Murder Club series (Richard Osman), Cult Classic (Sloane Crosley) and literally anything by Michael Robotham because he is fantastic.
🍽 LISTEN: I am currently listening to a podcast called Believe in Magic, a BBC Podcast, which is covering the strange story of a teenage girl and the deception at the heart of her charity Believe in Magic. Episodes are still being released, but the story so far is insane.
📺 WATCH: My god Apple TV brings out some good television. I am watching a new series called Silo, which is based on a series of books by Hugh Howey. It follows a community of people (10,000 or so) living in a large underground silo, bound by a lot of regulations designed to protect them from the uninhabitable outside world.
If you made it this far, thank you. Did you know I started a YouTube channel? It makes me cringe to share it, but I only have 13 followers and so I kind of need to promote it 🥲
If you liked this newsletter, consider sharing it with a friend:
Speak soon,
Andrea