Cuisine:

Japanese

An amalgamation of the Japanese words for pork cutlet (tonkatsu) and rice bowl (donburi), this popular dish is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Ingredients

80ml (1/3 cup) milk
Plain flour and panko breadcrumbs*, to crumb
4 (about 600g) pork medallions
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus equal quantities of corn and vegetable oils, to deep-fry
1 tsp dashi granules
60ml (1/4 cup) Japanese salt-reduced soy sauce
60ml (1/4 cup) mirin
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1 small onion, halved, sliced
6 eggs, lightly beaten taking care not to froth
Steamed short-grain rice, shredded nori* and pickled ginger*, to serve

Preparation

Place milk, flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls. Season pork with salt and pepper. Dust pork with flour, shake off excess, then dip in milk and coat in breadcrumbs. Place pork on a plate and refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm.

Fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan one-third full with corn and vegetable oils, and heat over medium heat to 170°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds). Working in 2 batches, gently lower pork into oil and fry, turning halfway, for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Thickly slice each pork medallion, keeping each portion separate.

Combine dashi granules with 250ml water and stir to dissolve. Combine dashi mixture, soy, mirin and sugar in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes or until soft and light golden. Spread onion evenly over the base of the pan and carefully place sliced pork on top, keeping each portion separate. Pour over dashi mixture and cook for 1 minute over medium heat.

Pour eggs evenly over the top of the mixture and stir lightly to combine with the dashi mixture. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until egg is starting to set but is still a little wet.

Meanwhile, divide rice among 4 bowls.

Working quickly, slide each portion of pork with some egg and onion mixture out of the pan onto a bowl of rice. Scatter with nori, top with pickled ginger and serve immediately.

*Panko breadcrumbs are available from selected supermarkets and Asian food shops.
*Nori (dried seaweed) and pickled ginger are available from Asian food shops.

Photography by Brett Stevens.