Tonkatsu with homemade sauce

Ingredients:

Sauce

• 0.5 cups ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Pork

• 0.5 cups flour
• 1 large egg
• 1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 4 natural pork cutlets, 1 cm thick, boneless (about 100 g each; see Note), drained
• Neutral-flavored vegetable oil, such as for frying

Innings

• Steamed rice
• 6 leaves of white cabbage, cut into strips or thinly shredded
• 8 tomato wedges
• 8 thin slices of peeled cucumber

Preparation:

1. Sauce:
   
   In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin, sugar, Dijon mustard, and garlic powder. Set aside while you prepare the pork.
2. Pork:
   
   Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat the egg with a little water in another shallow bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a deep bowl.
3. Lightly pound each pork chop with a mallet, then generously season both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge one chop in flour, coating it completely, and shake off any excess. Dip it in the egg mixture, let any excess drip off, then dredge it in panko breadcrumbs, pressing gently to adhere the crumbs. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining cutlets.
4. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil until shimmering. Add 2 patties and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the patties and cook until almost cooked through but still pink in the center, another 1–2 minutes. Transfer the patties to a cutting board lined with paper towels, season with salt, and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 patties.
5. Innings:
   
   Slice the patties across the grain into 1-cm-thick strips. Place a sliced ​​patty on each plate along with a mound of rice, a mound of cabbage, and 2 tomato wedges and/or cucumber slices, if using. Drizzle the patties with the sauce and serve.
   
   
   Note
   You can take a pork loin weighing approximately 400–500 grams, cut it into quarters, and then pound the pieces to a thickness of just under 1 cm. To ensure juicy meat, buy the highest-quality pork you can find, with a low fat content, and avoid overcooking it. Sometimes, before serving, people steep the cabbage in a bowl of ice water to make it crispier. If you do this, be sure to drain the water and pat the cabbage dry thoroughly.