Katsu Sando

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork loin cutlets (about 120 g / 4 oz each), 1.5 cm thick
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• About 1 liter vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 8 slices shokupan or other soft white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 4 tbsp softened butter, for spreading
• 1/2 cup tonkatsu sauce (or 4 tbsp ketchup + 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce + 1 tsp sugar, stirred together)
• 1 cup very finely shredded green cabbage
• 1 tsp Japanese hot mustard (karashi), optional

Before you cook

• Pat the pork cutlets dry, then use the back of a knife or a meat mallet to pound each one to an even 1.5 cm thickness
• Snip the edges of the fat on each cutlet in two or three spots so they don't curl up while frying
• Season both sides of each cutlet with salt and pepper
• Set up three shallow dishes in a row: flour in the first, beaten egg in the second, panko in the third
• Shred the cabbage as finely as you can and set it aside
• Stir together the tonkatsu sauce ingredients if you're making your own

Steps

1. Pour the oil into a deep pot until it's about 5 cm (2 inches) deep and heat it to 170°C (340°F)
2. Coat one pork cutlet in flour, shaking off the excess
3. Dip the floured cutlet into the beaten egg, letting the extra drip off
4. Press the cutlet firmly into the panko so the crumbs coat it completely on both sides
5. Repeat the flour, egg, and panko coating with the remaining cutlets
6. Lower two coated cutlets carefully into the hot oil, keeping them apart from each other
7. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep golden brown and crisp
8. Lift the cutlets out and rest them on a wire rack for a minute so the oil drains off
9. Fry the remaining cutlets the same way, letting the oil come back up to temperature between batches
10. Slice each fried cutlet crosswise into finger-width strips while it's still hot
11. Butter one side of each slice of shokupan
12. Lay a bed of shredded cabbage on the buttered side of half the bread slices
13. Brush or spoon tonkatsu sauce generously over the cabbage
14. Arrange the sliced katsu on top of the sauced cabbage, keeping the strips aligned
15. Spread a thin layer of karashi mustard on the remaining bread slices if using, then close the sandwiches
16. Press each sandwich gently and cut it in half or in thirds before serving