Japanese Pork with Onions
with sesame sauteed spinach / cauliflower rice
Katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowls) is a popular Japanese comfort food that is a little ambitious but a lot of fun to recreate at home. Breaded pork is the center of the dish, but we think the unique sauce that forms when eggs and flavorful cooking liquid come together is the real star.
Smarts: In Japan this dish is often made using leftover pork cutlets (they reheat in the pan before serving), so feel free to make the cutlets ahead of time if you can.
Smarts: In Japan this dish is often made using leftover pork cutlets (they reheat in the pan before serving), so feel free to make the cutlets ahead of time if you can.
Proteins
Cuisines
Ingredients
Cauliflower Rice:
- Cauliflower, small - 1 head , florets chopped
- Butter - 1 1/2 Tbsp
Japanese Pork with Onions:
- Onions, medium - 1/2 , thinly sliced
- Stock, any type - 1/2 cup
- Bragg's / coconut aminos - 2 1/2 Tbsp
- Honey - 1 Tbsp
- Mirin - 2 tsp (sub rice vinegar)
- Pork, boneless chops - 1 lb , sliced in half if very thick
- Green onions - 2 stalks , chopped
- Eggs - 2 + 2 , beaten
- Oil, cooking - 3 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
- Almond meal - 1/2 cup
Sesame Sauteed Spinach:
- Spinach, baby - 10 oz
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Vinegar, rice - 1 tsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Sesame seeds, white - 2 tsp
Prep
- Cauliflower rice - (Skip if cauli rice was made ahead on Monday.) Pulse florets in a food processor until broken up into ‘rice’-sized bits. Cook rice in one of two ways: 1) Microwave for 4 to 5 minutes and then fold in butter. Season with salt and pepper; or 2) Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add butter. Saute cauliflower in heated butter for ~5 minutes, until tender but still crunchy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Watch this video for the full how-to on cauliflower rice. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Onions - Thinly slice onions. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Prep cooking liquid - Combine stock, aminos, honey and mirin. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Pork - Trim fat off chops. If chops are very thick, slice in half to thin out. Tenderize with a fork and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Green onions - Chop green onions. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
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Make
- Prep breading stations by whisking the first portion of eggs with some salt and pepper in a bowl. In a second bowl place almond meal. Dip pork chops first in eggs, then coat them in almond meal. Set aside.
- Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add spinach, salt and vinegar and cover with a lid just until spinach starts to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain off excess liquid and transfer spinach to a serving dish. Top with lemon juice and sesame seeds and cover to keep warm. Return pan to heat.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add first part of cooking oil and then breaded pork chops. Sear pork on both sides until deep golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total (reduce heat if breading starts to turn dark brown before pork is cooked through). Set pork aside and return pan to heat.
- Add second part of cooking oil and then onions to heated oil. Saute until onions are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour cooking liquid over onions and bring to a simmer.
- Whisk remaining eggs.
- Pour whisked eggs over onions and give it a stir. Place pork slices on top. Cover the pan with a lid or foil and cook, covered, until eggs are nearly set (traditionally the eggs are served while still slightly soft so that they have a sort of creamy texture), 1 to 3 minutes.
- If cauliflower rice was made ahead, reheat in the microwave.
- Serve pork and onions over cauliflower rice. Finish bowls at the table by adding sesame spinach, green onions and extra aminos for seasoning.
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