Pork Katsu Donburi

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!! May the luck o' the Irish be with you today! Did you know that the husband is Irish (well, Irish and Cajun)? He is. We actually went to Ireland in 2005 with my in-laws and the husband's sister and her family. It was a fantastic trip. My FIL even met up with some cousins he didn't know about until he did some family tree research once we were there. It was amazing. In fact, to celebrate today, here's a picture of me kissing the Blarney Stone!



And the husband and I having our first pints of Guinness in Ireland. It tastes so much better over there than it does here!



So to celebrate, we're having...Japanese for dinner. I know, I know, but I couldn't come up with anything Irish that sounded good. I was originally going to do this on Thursday night, but I moved it to tonight. I don't remember why, but I'm excited for it. We've had this once before, about two months ago, and we all really liked it. It's from the Meal Planning 101 blog that I follow and love. Jen B. made it first, and they really liked it, then of course I followed in her footsteps because I'm completely co-dependent on her. With her? I don't know the right phrasing. I bought some pork chops last week when they were on sale for super cheap ($1.66/pound for BONELESS!!), so I'm going to bust out those for this.

Pork Katsu Donburi
2-4 pork loin chops
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs (try not to substitute or the result will not be the same)
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth
6 shitake mushrooms, sliced into strips (you can substitute regular button mushrooms)
1 carrot, julienned (I am using a frozen Asian Veggie Blend with carrots instead)
2 tbsp white sugar
4 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped green onions
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked rice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Cover the pieces of pork in plastic wrap and using a meat tenderizer, bash the meat until the piece is about 1/4 inch thick. Make sure you flip it over and do the other side as well. Do this to all your pieces. Then cut pork into cutlet sized portions, if needed. Now that your pieces of pork are cut and tenderized, season both sides with salt and pepper. In three separate bowls put flour in the first, beaten eggs in the second and Panko breadcrumbs in the third. Dredge each piece of pork in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, and place on a baking sheet with a baking rack on it. Drizzle lightly with oil and place in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip the pork, drizzle the other side lightly with oil and then place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

While pork is cooking chop veggies (or follow stir fry directions for cooking frozen veggies). In a large frying pan set to medium-high heat saute the onion in oil for 3-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and carrot and stir-fry a couple more minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, sugar, soy sauce and salt and let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle in half of the green onions, stirring gently.

When pork comes out of the oven, cut into strips.

Turn the heat down to medium-low for the veggies and pour beaten eggs over the mixture, stirring a bit to incorporate the sauce and egg. Gently add the pork over the top and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the eggs are cooked. You may need to add a lid for part of the cooking time to get the eggs to cook through on top.

To serve, scoop rice into four bowls. Divide pork and veggie mixture into four, and place on top of rice. Garnish with a little more chopped green onion. Serve immediately!

*****

I'm only modifying it a little. Jen mentioned she had used some chili paste in her egg wash, so I bought some at the store today to mix in because I thought the last time I made it, the pork could usse a little more flavor. I'm skipping the mushrooms and carrots and just using a frozen stir fry blend. I think last time I microwaved the veggies, and they were a bit soggy, so this time I'll stir fry them so they stay crisp and yummy. Oh, and I didn't add the pork back in because I thought it might get too soggy. I don't think I'll make any side dishes with this since there's rice and veggies in it already.