Katsudon (カツ丼)

I was going to blog more this month. Alas, I was busy with work, and also, I've actually been sick for the past week or so. First, with a bout of acid reflux where I was coughing non-stop for days. Then after an ah-may-zing night catching Jason Mraz live in concert at the newly opened Gardens at the Bay yesterday night, I caught a flu bug. I know. Lucky me.

Let me take a mo' here to stop and gush about how awesome the concert (Tour is a Four Letter Word) was. I almost couldn't even go cos I couldn't find a friend who was keen on him or who haven't already bought tickets. Then I managed to persuade a girlfriend to go with me, but the tickets were sold out. :( Fortunately, said girlfriend managed to caught wind that extra tickets will be released, so we did managed to buy tickets in the end. Phew to that. Cos I loved every single minute of the 2 and a half hours standing concert (legs were aching like crazy).

He started the concert with my favourite song from his latest album "Love is a Four Letter Word" - "The World As I See It", followed up closely with a few more songs from his new album. I admit it's a little hard to get high on his songs cos they are more mellow than hard rock thumping rhythms. Nevertheless, the crowds favourites would definitely be "You and I Both", "I'm Yours" and "Lucky" (where Corrine May was a guest to sing a duet with him) where everyone sang along word for word verbatim (and where the most people whipped out their phones to record him - I recorded when he sang "You and I Both"). I liked that his band was really good too, and he gave them time to shine individually with their solos. I can't stop stressing how great the performance was. *end fan girl rant*

You're here for the food aren't you? Sorry I took a while to get to it.

Katsudon (カツ丼)

I love Japanese food. And I feel that most (not all) are pretty easy to replicate at home. Most of the time I'm out at a restaurant having Japanese food, I rarely order the donburi dishes. Mostly because I know I can make them at home myself. I had never made a katsudon at home from scratch before, but I reckon it should be pretty easy. I had prepared a batch of breaded katsu and kept them in the freezer some time back, so one weekend, I decided to make katsudon from scratch.

It really was easy. I googled for a recipe, and basically came up with my own tweaked version based on a few recipes I had saw online. It was reallly delish! I had a really great Japanese lunch that day with some hijiki salad and yellow pickles as side dishes. Yums.

Katsudon (カツ丼)
(makes one serving)

1 breaded katsu fillet
1 serving of hot cooked rice (I used a mix of Japanese rice, and barley grains - or use any rice you like)
1/4 tsp dashi stock
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
spring onions (optional)
togarashi flakes (optional)

Fry the katsu fillet. Drain from oil, cut into thin strips.
Dissolve the dashi stock in the hot water. Add soy sauce, mirin, sugar and mix.
Place the above seasoning stock and the sliced onions into a pan, let it simmer on high heat for a while till the onions soften.
When the mixture boils, place the katsu strips in the middle, pour the beaten egg over the pan. Cover and simmer for a while (about a minute or less) till the egg cooks.
When the egg is half set (or fully set if you don't like half cooked eggs), remove from heat, place the dish over the rice.
Garnish with chopped spring onions and some togarashi flakes (chilli flakes) if desired. Serve immediately.