Schnitzel Katsu Curry
A thin pork schnitzel in a panko crust, sliced over rice and served with a from-scratch Japanese curry sauce, where Vienna meets Tokyo.
Method
Start with the curry sauce. Thinly slice the onion, cut the carrot into 5 mm dice and chop the garlic. Melt the butter in a 18 cm saucepan and cook the onion and carrot over medium heat for , until the onion is light brown and smells sweet. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds.
Add in this stepButter 20 gOnion (medium) 1Carrot (medium) ½Garlic cloves 1Grated fresh ginger 1 tsp
medium heatTurn down to medium-low heat, add the flour and curry powder and cook, stirring constantly, for , until it looks sandy and smells toasty. Keep scraping the bottom: burnt roux tastes bitter.
Add in this stepPlain flour (for the curry roux) 2 tbspMild curry powder 3 tsp
medium-low heatWhisk in the stock a ladleful at a time so no lumps form, then add the soy sauce, honey and ketchup. Simmer over low heat for , stirring now and then, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon thickly. For a smooth sauce, blend it with a stick blender.
Add in this stepChicken stock 350 mlSoy sauce 1 tspHoney 1 tspKetchup 2 tsp
low heatMake small cuts every 1 cm through the fat and sinew along the edge of the pork, then place it between cling film and pound to 6 mm thick. Season with salt and pepper and coat in flour, beaten egg and then panko, pressing the panko on lightly with your palm.
Add in this stepPork loin steaks (about 130 g each) 260 gSalt 2 pinchBlack pepper 1 pinchPlain flour (for coating) 40 gEggs 1Panko breadcrumbs 70 g
Pour oil into a deep 22 cm frying pan to a depth of 1.5 cm and heat over medium-high heat for , to 170°C. A few panko crumbs should sizzle and float at once.
Add in this stepNeutral oil (for frying) 550 ml
medium-high heatFry the schnitzel over medium-high heat for , until golden underneath, then turn and fry more. Fry one at a time, 2 round(s) in total. Stand them on a rack for 1 minute to drain, then cut into 2 cm strips.
medium-high heatPut the rice on one side of each plate and lean the sliced schnitzel against it. Reheat the curry sauce and pour it alongside so only half the crust sits in the sauce. Add the shredded cabbage and pickles.
Add in this stepHot cooked short-grain rice 360 gCabbage, very finely shredded 60 gPickled ginger (or other Japanese pickles) 2 tbsp
Cook's tip
Pour the sauce beside the schnitzel, not over it, so it stays crisp. Curry powders vary in heat, so start with less and add more to taste. The sauce tastes even better the next day, so it is worth making ahead.
Cooking it at camp
Make the curry sauce at home and just reheat it; with ready-cooked rice pouches, one burner is enough. Fry in a deep cast-iron pan with less oil (1 cm), one piece at a time, sheltered from the wind.