Ai's Katdu-don and Miso Soup

My friend Ai taught me how to make pork katsu-don and miso soup a couple of weeks ago. It was SOOOO good!!

Ai’s Pork Katsu-don

Boneless Pork chops
Flour
Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg + ½ T vegetable oil per egg (you will need however many eggs you need to cover however many chops you’re making)
Salt & pepper
Oil, for frying
1. Lightly tenderize both sides of the chops then squish them back into form on a cutting board and set aside.

2. Wisk the amount of eggs and oil you need in a medium bowl (the oil helps the panko stay on the chops).

3. Line a cookie sheet with the panko crumbs and set aside.

4. Salt and pepper the pork.

5. Sprinkle flour on both sides of the chops.

6. Take each chop and put it in the egg mixture and then place them on top of the panko crumbs on the cookie sheet. Once the cookie sheet is filled or you’ve finished putting the egg on each chop sprinkle the chops with panko and press down so both sides are covered in panko.

7. Put the chops aside until you’re ready to fry, then fry until golden.


Sauce (per person):
¼ small onion, sliced thin
50 mls water (just shy of a ¼ c)
1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
1 ½ t sugar
1 t dashi (like a fish bouillon)
1 egg (per person)
1. Saute the onion in about a T of vegetable oil until softened.

2. Add the water and dashi, let simmer for about 5 minutes.

3. Add soy, mirin and sugar, taste (should be strong taste since you will add egg that will make it less strong), let simmer.

4. Right before you’re going to serve it lightly beat as many eggs as you have people eating and put the eggs into the sauce ½ at a time. When you put the second half of the eggs in put the lid on and cook just for a minute until the eggs are just done.

ASSEMBLY: You can either put the fried chops into the sauce and then put it over rice if you like the pork soft. If you like the pork crispy then put rice on the plate, then sauce over the rice and the pork on top.

Ai’s Miso Soup
Any vegetables you want, cut thin (dikon, pumpkin, carrot, etc)
(Per person)
1 c water
1-2 T miso (red, white or Koji (Ai’s favorite, it has rice in it)
½ t dashi (it's a fish bouillon base you can get at Japanese markets)
Silken tofu (cut into small cubes)
Green onion (sliced small)
1. Put the water and dashi in a pot at medium heat.

2. Once the water is hot add the vegetables and simmer until soft.

3. Put the amount of miso you need in a large ladle. Put a little of the dashi broth in the ladle with the miso and stir a small amount of the miso into the broth in the ladle. When the miso is mixed into the broth pour that part into the rest of the broth and vegetables and continue the same process until all the miso is in the pot.

4. Add the tofu and green onions (you can also wait to serve until you add the green onions).

IMPORTANT: Don’t boil the miso!! Just heat until hot.