Catching Up

Sorry about not catching up in the last couple of days. Had a test in ASL, so most of the week was spent studying. It's an interesting and fun language to learn, but if you're not practicing daily, it's easy to lose track of the signs.

That said, I'm on the net book, so I can't get my photos on here. I'll try to edit those in soon. As a peace offering, here's a lovely recipe inspired by JustBento.com The blogger on that site inspired me to get into the mini meals, and she has a phenomenal book out. If I forget to list one of her recipes, I'll shove as many customers as I can through her door to grab a copy of The Just Bento Cookbook. It's a great inspiration. On her site, she showed a few pictures of some store bought sandwiches called Katsu Sando, and the Bobbers liked the idea, so I made my own version below.

Katsu Sando
This is a crispy, breadcrumb-coated pork cutlet in sandwich form. The usual form is called Tonkatsu and is popular in a lot of Japanese restaurants. This version is convenient. :3 I also include the popular Katsu sauce if you don't have it in the grocery store.

Tonkatsu:
1 pork cutlet thinly sliced and boneless
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
2 tbs water
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs or regular
Canola oil

1. Pour the canola oil in a deep pan until the oil covers 1" of the base and heat on medium high.
2. Wrap the cutlet in plastic wrap and flatten with a rolling pin, pounding until the piece is 1/4" thick.
3. Mix the flour, salt and pepper, and paprika and dredge the cutlet in the flour.
4. Whisk the egg and water and coat the cutlet in the egg mixture.
5. Press the cutlet into the Panko crumbs until it is well coated.
6. Cook in the heated oil, flipping once, for 6 minutes.
7. Remove cutlet to paper towel-lined plate and pat dry the excess oil.

Katsu Sauce: (This is amazing with chicken nuggets, too.)
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs ketchup
1/4 tsp soy sauce
dash of pepper to taste

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and taste.

When both the sauce and the Tonkatsu are ready, prepare your bread and some lettuce. (Traditionally, shredded cabbage is used instead of lettuce, but we've had too much of it lately.) Line the lettuce on one side of the sandwich and drizzle the Katsu sauce and a dab of mayonnaise. (In one of my rare cases, I prefer mayonnaise with the preservatives if I'm not going to have access to a fridge, or you could abstain altogether. If a recipe does call for mayo, though, make sure you can keep the dish cool or go with the preservatives. It's always better safe than sorry.) Top with the cutlet and bread, slice and serve.

I don't usually like pork at all. We'll maybe have it once or twice a year. Tonkatsu, though, wins me over because it's just such a quintessential Japanese treat. The pork is cheap, too, so I froze the rest of the cutlets to use in later Bentos. You can have this donburi-style, which means on rice with veggies, or even with mashed potatoes. The sandwich is a great midday pick-me-up, though, and it's convenient. Try this with chicken or fish sometime.

 Here's one of Bob's lunches: a chili cheese omelet. He said it was yummy, and all it took was a few leftovers in the fridge.