Corinn’s Katsu Curry
Ingredients:
The Tonkatsu:
8 thin-cut pork chops, boneless
Panko bread crumbs
All-purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp shichimi togarash (seven-flavor pepper powder) (you
can sub cayenne pepper for this, but reduce to 1/2 tsp)
2 eggs diluted with milk or water
The Veggies:
8 red-skin potatoes or new potatoes (waxy potatoes work
best), diced into large-ish cubes
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small sweet onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced thinly on the bias
3 green onions, chopped finely
1 red hot chili pepper, sliced very thinly (optional if you
like heat)
Splash of soy sauce (in the boiling water)
The Sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin, just regular olive oil)
1 tbsp butter
All-purpose flour (to thicken, amount used varies based on
desired thickness)
3 tbsp good-quality yellow curry powder (get this from an
Indian grocer if you can, the quality difference is HUGE)
1 tbsp shichimi togarash
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
Water to your desired consistency
Directions to make the curry:
First, you want to get the veggies boiled off. Cut up the
potatoes and carrots, since they need to be boiled first. Put them in a pot and
boil them with a splash of soy sauce. While this is going on, you can start
breading and frying your pork chops.
Set up a breading station with a dish of flour (seasoned
with garlic powder, pepper, salt and shichimi togarash), a bowl with the egg
and milk mixture and a dish with plain panko breadcrumbs. Bread the pork chops
normally and fry off in vegetable oil until crisp and golden brown. Store these
in the oven, wrapped in foil, to keep them warm.
By this time your veg should be done; remove from heat and
strain off. Start making the sauce. In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and
butter and melt it down. Add the onion and bell pepper (and chili peppers if
you want it spicy) and cook them until the onions are translucent. Add curry
powder, shichimi togarash, garlic, ginger and (if necessary) more butter. Add
the flour and cook it off to make a roux. Add cold water and whisk vigorously,
cooking until thickened. Add boiled potatoes and carrots to the sauce; reduce
heat to low and cook slowly for another five minutes.
Remove from heat and add finely chopped green onions.
To plate:
Slice two breaded pork chops into long, thin strips and
arrange on a mound of white or brown rice in a shallow bowl. Ladle a few spoons
of sauce over the top; garnish with pickled ginger and a sprinkling of shichimi togarash. Serve immediately. Feeds four-six rather hungry individuals.
