Tuesday 19 March 2013

Kare Katsu (Japanese Curry with Pork Chop) 日本咖喱猪扒饭

Japanese curry is one of my favourite because of the tangy gravy which goes very well with any ingredients and most importantly white rice. There are choices of mild, medium and hot (or extra hot on some brands) for the curry cubes. I always go for mild or medium because Japanese curry is not meant to be hot in my opinion. You can add any vegetable into the curry and that will create a nutritious meal! I like it with tonkatsu (fried pork chop) too! When the crispiness of the pork chop meets the marvellous thick curry sauce, mmm...you will only know how it feels when you eat it. 

Fried Pork Chop

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 Pork loin (1-1.5cm thick)
2tbsp Plain flour
1 egg
4-5 tbsp bread crumbs (Nama panko)
salt and pepper for seasoning
3 tbsp cooking oil

Steps:

1. Remove the thick fat at the edge of the pork loins. If your loin is too thick you can cut horizontally from the non-fat side and stop before the fat edge to form a butterfly chop. Make a few cuts on the meat and pound it for 30 times to make a tender texture. Season the meat with some salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Prepare three dry plates. Add plain flour on one plate, one beaten egg on the second plate, and bread crumbs on the third plate. 
  • Place the meat in the flour and make a thin layer of flour covering both sides of the meat. 
  • Dunk it into the egg and flip over to cover the other side with egg. 
  • Transfer the meat to the third plate and make sure both sides of the meat are covered with bread crumbs.
3. Heat a pan and add in the cooking oil. Add in the pork chop and fry on a medium heat for about 2 minutes on one side or check and flip when it is golden brown. Fry until both sides are golden and place it on kitchen towel to remove excessive oil. Do the same to the rest of the meat.

Japanese Curry

Ingredients: (serves 2)
50g Chicken breast (diced)
1 Potato (diced)
1/2 Carrot (diced)
1 Onion (diced)
1 clove Garlic (minced)
2 cubes Japanese Curry cubes (I used S&B medium hot curry cubes)
200ml water
1/2 tsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp cooking oil
soy sauce and sugar to taste


Steps:

1. Heat a pot at medium heat and add the cooking oil. Add the onion and garlic. Fry until fragrance and add the chicken. Stir fry until the meat turns white. 
2. Add the carrot, potato and oyster sauce. Stir well.
3. Pour in all the water and bring to boil. 
4. Add the curry cubes into the stew and stir gently until the cube is completely melted to form the sauce. 
5. Continue simmering until the vegetables are all soften and you get the thickness of gravy you like. 
6. Add some soy sauce and sugar to taste. 
7. Prepare some of hot steamed rice on a plate, place the fried pork chop (cut into strips) at one side, scoop some curry and pour over the rice and pork chop. Serve immediately and enjoy!