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Menchi Katsu (Fried Ground Meat Cutlets)
Serves 2 (4 pieces) · About 45 min
A mixture of ground meat, cabbage and onion, coated in panko and fried. Juices come out when you cut it.
① Cut the vegetables→② Make the mixture→③ Coat the fish→④ Fry→⑤ Arrange on a plate
What to buy
Meat & eggs
Vegetables
Bread & flour
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How to make it
1
Cut the vegetables
- Finely chop 2 leaves of cabbage on a cutting board
- Finely chop 1/4 onion too
- Stack and roll up the other 2 leaves of cabbage and cut into fine shreds for the side (soak in water, then drain in a colander)
How to tell it's doneThe chopped vegetables for the mixture and the shredded cabbage for the side are set out separately.
2
Make the mixture
- Put 250 g ground meat, 1/3 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper in a bowl and knead by hand
- Add the chopped cabbage and onion and mix more
- Divide into 4. Toss each lightly back and forth between your hands to push out the air, and shape into rounds about 2 cm thick
How to tell it's doneThe meat is sticky and holds together with the vegetables, and there are no big cracks on the surface when shaped.
3
Coat the fish
- In another bowl, put 4 tbsp flour, 1 egg and 1 tbsp water and mix until there are no lumps
- Add the patties one at a time and coat all over
- Put on a tray or plate spread with panko, sprinkle more panko on top and press lightly by hand
- When done coating, wash your hands with dish soap, since they touched raw meat
How to tell it's doneThe patties are covered in panko with no bare spots showing.
4
Check the oil temperature
- Pour frying oil about 3 cm deep into a small pot and put on medium heat
- Put the tip of dry cooking chopsticks into the oil
How to tell it's doneSmall bubbles keep fizzing from the tips of the chopsticks (about 170°C). If no bubbles come, it's still not hot enough.
Be carefulWhile frying, do not leave the pot. If you have to leave, always turn off the heat. Water in the oil makes it splatter, so dry your hands and tools.
5
Fry
- Gently slide in the cutlets 2 at a time from the edge of the pot
- Fry 3 min without touching, turn over with cooking chopsticks and fry 3 min more
- Take them out onto a tray with a rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain the oil. Fry the other 2 the same way
How to tell it's doneThey are golden brown all over, and the bubbles are getting smaller. Cut 1 in half through the middle: no pink inside, and the juice that comes out is clear.
Be carefulIf you add too many at once, the oil cools down and the coating comes off. The oil splatters, so keep your hand away from the oil when adding them.
6
Arrange on a plate
- Put the cutlets and shredded cabbage on plates
- Pour on tonkatsu sauce (chuno sauce) to eat (about 1 tbsp per person)
- Clean up the oil only after it has cooled completely with the heat off
ReadyEat while hot.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
If it didn't work out
The coating came offSome parts were not coated with the egg and flour batter. Next time, coat all over well before adding panko.
The inside was rawThe oil was too hot, so only the outside browned first. Turn to medium-low heat, and if the inside is red when you cut it, fry 1–2 more min.
They burst and the juices came outNot enough air was pushed out. Next time, toss them between your hands more times.
OilyThe oil was not hot enough. Check the bubbles from the chopsticks before adding, and add no more than 2 at a time.
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