Katsudon
Katsudon (カツ丼) is a popular Japanese food, a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, vegetables, and condiments.
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The dish takes its name from the Japanese words tonkatsu (for pork cutlet) and donburi (for rice bowl dish)
It has become a modern tradition for Japanese students to eat katsudon the night before taking a major test or school entrance exam. This is because "katsu" is a homophone of the verb 勝つ katsu, meaning "to win" or "to be victorious". It is also a famous gag of Japanese police films: many people think that suspects will speak the truth with tears when they have eaten katsudon and are asked, "Did you ever think about how your mother feels about this?" Even nowadays, the gag of "We must eat katsudon while interrogating" is popular in Japanese films.[1]
Variations
Variations include sauce katsudon (with tonkatsu sauce or Worcestershire sauce, a various regions such as Fukui, Kōfu, Gunma, Aizuwakamatsu and Komagane), demi katsudon or domi katsudon (with demi-glace and often green peas, a specialty of Okayama), shio-katsudon (with salt, another Okayama variety), shōyu-dare katsudon (with soy sauce, Niigata style), and miso-katsudon (a favorite in Nagoya). Beef (gyū-katsu) and chicken (oyakodon) can substitute for the pork. Katsukarē is a variation with curry sauce instead of the usual egg.[2]
Preparation
A popular way of preparing the tonkatsu for the katsudon dish is to dip the cutlet in flour, followed by egg, then dipping in panko breadcrumbs, and skillet frying.[3]
- Sauce katsudon in Tokyo
- Sauce katsudon in Tsuruga, Fukui
- Sauce katsudon in Aizuwakamatsu
- Demi-glace sauce katsudon in Okayama
- Ketchup sauce katsudon called Yōfū (western style) katsudon in Nagaoka, Niigata
- Soy sauce katsudon in Niigata
In Popular Culture
- In Isekai Shokudo light novel series, Katsudon is the favourite food of Lionel, a beastman who managed to become a gladiator champion from weekly eating Katsudon.
- In Yuri on Ice anime series, Katsudon is the favourite dish of Yuri Katsuki,Victor Nikiforov also took great liking to Katsudon, calling it God food.
- In Shokugeki no Soma, Soma Yukihira cooks home-made Katsudon using beef to substitute pork during a cooking competition.
- In Hataraku Maō-sama!, After Satan Jacob and Alciel landed in modern day Japan. Japanese police officer took the two to a police station where they were offered "Katsudom" as a warm meal.
References
- Archived 2015-02-22 at the Wayback Machine - 岡山県警察 採用情報
- Lonely Planet (1 February 2014). The World's Best Spicy Food: Where to Find it & How to Make it. Lonely Planet. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-74360-421-2.
- Ono, Tadashi; Salat, Harris (2013). Japanese Soul Cooking: Ramen, Tonkatsu, Tempura, and More from the Streets and Kitchens of Tokyo and Beyond. Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale. ISBN 9781607743538. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
External links
- Katsudon Recipe
- なぜ取り調べにはカツ丼が出るのか? メディアファクトリー (2010/12/21) ISBN 978-4840136624
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