Oven-baked Tonkatsu

Weekends nowadays are mostly spent at home or back at my parents' place.  With enough of eating-out days, I prefer cooking at home. Doesn't matter even if I cook only simple fuss free meals, hubby eats it anyway.

Before this, I made some japanese potato salad, and I made them enough for a 2nd serving on the next day, so that I could make some tonkatsu (japanese pork cutlet) to go along with. Call me a lazy wife. :P

These tonkatsu I made were oven baked and recipe was adapted from Justonecookbook.  No need for deep frying. Did not use my airfryer this round.  Verdict?  Not too bad considering they were oven baked.  It definitely cannot fight deep-fried ones but I will still use this method again. And again.

Baked Tonkatsu
(Serve 2)
Recipe by Justonecookbook

¾ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 pieces pork loin (1/2 lb ,226 g), ½ inch (1.2 cm) thickness
1 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 large egg
Tonkatsu Sauce (or Make homemade Tonkatsu Sauce)
1 Tbsp. black and/or white sesame seeds

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine the panko and oil in a frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer panko into a shallow dish and allow to cool.

3. Get rid of the extra fat and make a couple of slits on the copnnective tissue between the meat and fat. The reason why you do this is that red meat and fat have different elasticity, and when they are cooked they will shrink and expand at different rates. This will allow Tonkatu to stay nice and flat and prevent Tonkatsu from curling up.

4. Pound the meat with a meat pounder, or if you don’t have one then just use the back of knife to pound. Mold the extended meat back into original shape with your hands.

5. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Dredge each pork piece in the flour to coat completely and pat off the excess flour. Then dip into the beaten egg and finally coat with the toasted panko. Press on the panko flakes to make sure they adhere to the pork.

7. Place the pork on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the pork is no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes.

8. Cut Tonkatsu into 1 inch pieces (so you can eat with chopsticks) by pressing the knife directly down instead of moving back and forth. This way the panko will not come off. Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

9. To make special sesame tonkatsu sauce, grind black and white sesame seeds in a mortor and add tonkatsu sauce. Mix all together.