Deep-fried Pork Cutlet with Cheese (Tonkatsu)
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 boneless pork loins (at least half-inch thick)
  • 2 American slices, slice them in halves
  • Marination:
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons cooking wine
  • Coating:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Depp Frying:
  • a medium pot peanut oil
Instructions
  1. Cut the pork loins crosswise by laying them on a cutting board, holding the knife parallel to the board. Place the non-dominant hand on top of the pork, while carefully slice the pork in half along its length by cutting between your hand and the cutting board. Stop when it's almost to the other edge.
  2. Open the cut meat and lay flat, place a piece of plastic wrap on top and pound the meat with a mallet.
  3. Season the unfold-side with salt, black pepper and cooking wine for 15 minutes and place half slice of American slice on each side.
  4. Carefully fold the pork and mold the meat back into shape with your hands.
  5. Dredge each filled pork loin in flour and shake off any excess flour.
  6. Dip into eggs and then coat with Panko bread crumbs.
  7. Heat oil in a pot until the oil reaches 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). If you don't have a thermometer, to test if the oil is ready, insert a wooden spoon or a chopstick into the oil, if the oil bubbles around the stick, it's ready for frying (make sure it doesn't go over 375 degrees, otherwise it will burn)
  8. Gently slide the pork into the oil and fry 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
  9. Remove the pork with kitchen tongs, and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, let sit for 3-4 minutes.
  10. Scoop up fried crumbs in the oil with a mesh strainer while waiting. You can also blanch some vegetable to add to the dish later.
  11. Bring the the oil back to 350 degrees F and deep fry for 30 seconds each side.
  12. Remove the pork from oil and drain on a new paper tower.
  13. Cut into 1-inch thick slices, transfer to a plate and serve hot.
  14. I add blanched broccoli on the side, ketchup on top and served with rice to make it into a simple meal.
Notes
1. If you don't own a mallet, you could also the back of a knife to pound the meat. And many common household items can help as well. For example, a rolling pin, a cast iron pan or even a heavy dictionary.
2. Japanese breadcrumbs, called panko, have large flakes rather than crumbs which lead to much crispier breading with a lighter texture.
3. Oils with higher smoke points such as peanut oil are ideal for deep frying.
4. The oil temperature is very important for deep frying, around 180 degrees F is ideal, too low, the food gets greasy, too high, the food will burn.

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Recipe by Spice the Plate at https://www.spicetheplate.com/pork/deep-fried-pork-cutlet-cheese-tonkatsu/