Katsudon
カツ丼·(katsudon)
The 20-Minute Donburi: Weeknight Survival
A proper katsudon isn't delicate temple food requiring a three-hour meditation on seasonal ingredients—it is a working-class survival meal built on a panko-breaded cutlet and a steaming bowl of short-grain rice that takes exactly twenty minutes. The secret isn't making the pork from scratch; it's shamelessly repurposing yesterday's leftover tonkatsu or a supermarket deli staple—sliced, simmered in a sweet-salty dashi broth, and bound with a barely-set, two-stage egg pour. Slide the shallow skillet over the rice, grab chopsticks, and eat.
Ingredients
- pre-cooked tonkatsu1 large
- cooked Japanese short-grain white rice1 cup
- yellow onion1/4 small
- eggs2 large
- scallion1 med
- dashi1/4 cup
- soy sauce1 tbsp
- mirin1 tbsp
- sake1 tbsp
- granulated sugar1 1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Simmer the broth and onions.
In a small 6 to 8-inch skillet, whisk together the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. Add the sliced onions and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat for about 2 minutes until soft and translucent.
- 02
Introduce the cutlet.
Slide the sliced tonkatsu over the softened onions and simmer uncovered for a minute so the bottom crust absorbs the broth while the top stays relatively crisp.
- 03
Execute the first egg pour.
Pour two-thirds of the beaten egg around the edges of the cutlet. Cover the pan and steam-fry for 45 to 60 seconds until the whites just begin to set.
- 04
Add the remaining egg and cut the heat.
Remove the lid, drizzle the remaining egg around the pan, cover it again, and immediately turn off the heat.
- 05
Let residual heat finish the job.
Allow the covered pan to sit undisturbed on the warm stove for 45 seconds to achieve the coveted fuwa-toro—fluffy and barely set—custardy texture.
- 06
Slide over rice and serve.
Shake the pan gently to loosen the edges, slide the entire glorious mass directly over a hot bowl of rice, and garnish with chopped scallions.
Notes
Mind your pan size.
Using a small 6 to 8-inch non-stick skillet—roughly the same diameter as your serving bowl—is critical so the broth doesn't evaporate too quickly and the final dish slides perfectly onto the rice.
Embrace the dashi shortcut.
For the dashi, dissolving 1/4 teaspoon of instant Hondashi powder in 1/4 cup of warm water is a perfectly authentic, heavily utilized homestyle maneuver.
From Cook Japanese in America.