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Tonkatsu: breaded pork cutlet with sauce and scallions, rice, shredded cabbage, chopsticks

  • Duration

    1 hour

  • Serves

    4
Chef’s notes

Tonkatsu, a Japanese fried pork cutlet is a popular bento box item. It makes a quick, delicious lunch, and with the combination of being pounded, tenderized, and brined, this recipe works really well with tougher wild boar meat.

Katsu sauce is easy to make if you can’t find the bottled stuff. It’s essentially a combination of Worcestershire, ketchup, and soy, and a few other additions that you likely have in your pantry. Check out Wade Truong's recipe for katsu sauce here.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. wild boar loin
  • 4 cups water
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1-2 eggs
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • Frying oil
  • Katsu sauce
  • 4 cups shredded cabbage
  • Seasoned rice vinegar
  • Toasted sesame seed oil
  • Cooked white rice
  • 3 green onions, chopped

Also works with

Any wild game meat

Special equipment

Meat tenderizer

Preparation

  1. Slice wild boar loin into four, equal-size medallions. Place one piece between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ½-inch thickness with a meat tenderizer. Next, unwrap the cutlet, and with a pointed knife, evenly pierce the meat all over. Repeat with the remaining wild boar.
  2. In a saucepan, combine 4 cups of water, ¼ cup of kosher salt and ¼ cup of brown sugar. Heat the mixture just enough to dissolve salt and sugar and allow to cool completely. Pour brine into a bowl and soak wild boar for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 2 hours, refrigerated. The longer the brine, the saltier the meat will taste.
  3. Heat frying oil to 340-350°F. In a wide, shallow bowl, beat egg(s) until slightly foamy. Pour panko breadcrumbs into a second bowl and flour into a third. Remove wild boar from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Coat each cutlet in this order: First in flour, then egg, and finish with panko. Gently press the breadcrumbs onto the meat to encourage sticking. Fry each cutlet (do not crowd the pan) until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels or cooling rack.
  4. Toss shredded cabbage with seasoned rice vinegar and a few drops of toasted sesame oil to taste. Cut each fried cutlet into strips and serve immediately with cabbage salad, white rice, chopped green onion, and katsu sauce.

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Wild Hog Tonkatsu

Recipe by: Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Tonkatsu: breaded pork cutlet with sauce and scallions, rice, shredded cabbage, chopsticks

  • Duration

    1 hour

  • Serves

    4
Chef’s notes

Tonkatsu, a Japanese fried pork cutlet is a popular bento box item. It makes a quick, delicious lunch, and with the combination of being pounded, tenderized, and brined, this recipe works really well with tougher wild boar meat.

Katsu sauce is easy to make if you can’t find the bottled stuff. It’s essentially a combination of Worcestershire, ketchup, and soy, and a few other additions that you likely have in your pantry. Check out Wade Truong's recipe for katsu sauce here.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. wild boar loin
  • 4 cups water
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1-2 eggs
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • Frying oil
  • Katsu sauce
  • 4 cups shredded cabbage
  • Seasoned rice vinegar
  • Toasted sesame seed oil
  • Cooked white rice
  • 3 green onions, chopped

Also works with

Any wild game meat

Special equipment

Meat tenderizer

Preparation

  1. Slice wild boar loin into four, equal-size medallions. Place one piece between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ½-inch thickness with a meat tenderizer. Next, unwrap the cutlet, and with a pointed knife, evenly pierce the meat all over. Repeat with the remaining wild boar.
  2. In a saucepan, combine 4 cups of water, ¼ cup of kosher salt and ¼ cup of brown sugar. Heat the mixture just enough to dissolve salt and sugar and allow to cool completely. Pour brine into a bowl and soak wild boar for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 2 hours, refrigerated. The longer the brine, the saltier the meat will taste.
  3. Heat frying oil to 340-350°F. In a wide, shallow bowl, beat egg(s) until slightly foamy. Pour panko breadcrumbs into a second bowl and flour into a third. Remove wild boar from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Coat each cutlet in this order: First in flour, then egg, and finish with panko. Gently press the breadcrumbs onto the meat to encourage sticking. Fry each cutlet (do not crowd the pan) until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels or cooling rack.
  4. Toss shredded cabbage with seasoned rice vinegar and a few drops of toasted sesame oil to taste. Cut each fried cutlet into strips and serve immediately with cabbage salad, white rice, chopped green onion, and katsu sauce.