Tonkatsu

[Everything below is written by EurJean since I was unable to make their Dinner Meet.]

Tonkatsu is traditionally served on cabbage (which is thinly sliced, soaked in cold water, then drained/dried). I also like to make this recipe with Italian bread crumbs, which is something my mom did growing up when we didn't have panko on hand. This is one of the first recipes my mom taught me.

Ingredients:

10 Thin-sliced pork cutlets
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Flour (approx. 1-2 cups)
Lightly beaten eggs (approx. 3 eggs)
Panko (approx. 1-2 cups)
Vegetable oil for frying
Tonkatsu sauce (store-bought, my favorite brand is Bulldog)

Pork prep:
If thin-sliced pork cutlets are not available, you may cut pork chops in half or slice a pork tenderloin into cutlets. Wash and pat dry the pork. Slice and remove any bone or fat. For each pork cutlet, put between two pieces of plastic wrap (or wax paper) and pound with a meat tenderizing mallet (or the blunt side of a knife) until flattened to an even thickness. Sprinkle each cutlet with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper on both sides. It's optional, but cutlets can be seasoned with grated onion juice instead of onion powder.

Tonkatsu assembly:
For each pork cutlet, dredge in flour, shake off excess, dip in egg, shake off excess, then press panko crumbs lightly until completely covered. Heat oil on medium-heat until panko crumb bubbles and browns readily (2-3 seconds). When frying tonkatsu, avoiding turning more than once. Fry each side for approximately 3 minutes until golden brown. Put browned tonkatsu on drying rack (or paper towels).

Curried Pork Noodles

One of the main reasons I use Google Reader is because I get to consolidate a whole bunch of food blogs to read at my leisure. I happened across this recipe as I was browsing from one linked blog to another. You should check out this blog sometime; I like the blogger's writing style, and the recipes are tasty. I've adapted the recipe to what you see below. This serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 package of dried rice noodles (I used thin rice sticks, but you should try using pad thai noodles if you find them.)

Vegetable/olive oil

1 pound ground pork

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 small fresh green chilis, deseeded and minced

1 small onion, chopped in long slices

1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 tablespoons curry powder

3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

¾ cup coarsely chopped cilantro

¾ cup coarsely chopped basil (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cover the rice noodles in boiling water and soak until soft but not mushy for 7-10 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of the soaking water. Drain the noodles, flush with cold water, and transfer to a bowl.

2. In the meantime, cook the pork, garlic, and chili in 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet, breaking up any chunks, until just cooked through (a little pink is okay as it will cook through later). Remove with a slotted spoon to a small bowl.

3. Add the remaining oil in the skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add the pepper strips. Cook for 1 minute, then add the onion. Continue cooking until the pepper is almost tender but with a little crunch and the onion is golden, an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add the reserved pork along with the curry powder. Cook, stirring often, for 1 minute then stir in the reserve noodle-soaking water. Add the drained noodles along with the fish sauce and herbs. Toss well to combine and serve with more fish sauce, if desired.

Laab with Ground Pork

This dish was amazing! The tanginess of the lime juice, the fresh crunch of the shallots/herbs, and the slight sweetness from the fish sauce all combined perfectly into this simple recipe. Enjoy. :)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of toasted rice

1-2 shallots, thinly sliced (to taste)

1-2 limes, to taste

½ pound of ground pork (we used closer to 1 lb. of ground pork)

¼ tsp of ground dried chili pepper (we used red pepper flakes)

1 tbsp fish sauce

5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

3 sprigs of mint (optional – we omitted this)

1 green onion, chopped/minced (optional – we added this)

Salt and pepper, to taste (we didn’t add pepper, but Trang thinks pepper would be a nice add)

Lettuce leaves, to eat with the laab

Instructions (for close to a pound of ground pork):

1. Squeeze lime juice onto the ground pork. Mix well and let it marinade for a few minutes until you are ready to cook it. For ½ pound of meat, you can probably do with the juice you get from moderate squeezing of one lime, but for a pound of meat, you probably want to squeeze the life out of it.

2. Make toasted rice! Here’s how: Heat up a pan/wok and add 2 tbsp of uncooked rice. Lower the heat and keep stirring to prevent burning. Some of the rice will pop, so don’t be surprised/alarmed. The rice is done when the grains turn a golden brown color. Remove the toasted rice from the pan, and pour it into a mortar. Twist the pestle against the rice to crush the grains into smaller pieces. Alternatively, you can do what Trang did and Magic Bullet it. :-)

3. Wash some lettuce leaves, and use either a salad spinner or some paper towels to dry the leaves. Set aside til you’re ready to serve the laab. (You can spoon the laab into the lettuce to munch together. Delish! But I’m getting ahead of myself…)

4. Heat up a pan on high heat until it is very hot. (The primary recipe that I am adapting this recipe from suggests using cast iron pans because they can heat up super hot, retain heat well, and heat evenly.) Add four tablespoons (or splashes, really) of water, and immediately add the marinated pork. Stir the pork around, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Keep stirring until the pork is well done.

5. Transfer the ground pork to a large mixing bowl. Add the fish sauce, green onion, shallot, cilantro, the rest of the lime juice, red pepper flakes and almost all of the toasted rice into the bowl. (Save the rest of the toasted rice for garnish.) Mix well and taste. This is where you can adjust ingredient quantities if it’s not to your liking. You should be able to taste the tartness from the lime juice and the fish sauce. You can add a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

6. Put the mixed ingredients in a serving bowl, garnish with the optional ingredients and the rest of the toasted rice. Serve with the lettuce.