Hybrid Katsu-don "fried pork" bowl 煮カツ丼ソースカツ丼ハイブリッド

When we get pork tenderloins, we most often make, at least a main portion of it, to "ton-katsu" トンカツ or "hire-katsu" ヒレカツ. We then make "Katsudon" カツ丼 from the leftover tonkatsu. I have made some variations of it depending on what ingredients are available but there are two main variations. The most common one is onion and tonkatsu simmered in soy sauce-based broth then topped with a lightly beaten egg (most people like the egg to be semi cooked) and then placed on the top of cooked white rice. The other is sometimes called "so-su katsudon" ソースカツ丼 . In this variation "tonkatsu sauce" or some other Japanese-Western style sauce such a mixture of catsup and Worcester  sauce is used. The tonkatsu is either simmered or dipped in the sauce or is topped with it. I made a hybrid of the traditional and the so-su katsudon then topped it off with a poached egg made from pasteurized eggs. This was a lunch. I served it with salted cucumber and daikon or "asazuke" 浅漬け.

Since I did not have any shiitake mushrooms which I usually use for this dish I used frozen "maitake" 舞茸 or hen of the woods. I also had blanched broccolini florets so I added that mostly for color.

Ingredients: (for two servings).
Cooked rice (freshly cooked is the best but microwaved frozen rice will do).
2 hire-katsu or pork tenderloin cutlets (if you fry them just before assembling the dish, that will be the best but that never happens in our household).
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
Some mushrooms, I often use fresh shiitake but this time I used frozen maitake, amount arbitrary.
1/4 cup Japanese broth (made of kelp and dried bonito flakes)
1 - 2 tsp concentrated "mentsuyu" めんつゆ noodle sauce or mirin and soy sauce
2 pasteurized eggs
Some greenery such as snow peas, I added blanched broccolini (optional)

Directions:
1. In a small frying pan, I added olive oil and sautéed the onion and maitake (still frozen) until slightly soft (optional step, you can skip this and go to #2)
2. Add the broth and mentsuyu, when it starts boiling, turn the heat down and simmer with a cover on for 5-minutes or until the onion and mushroom are cooked and the sauce is slightly reduced.
3. Meanwhile, Put the rice in two bowls and microwave to warm it up.
3. Since this is leftover tonkatsu, I reheated it in our toaster oven using the toasting function, which is almost like re-frying. The crispy crust comes back. Cut into bite-size strips.
4. Start making poached eggs 4-5 minutes before everything comes together. The yolks should still be very runny.
5. Using a perforated spoon, place the cooked onion and mushroom on the rice (only small amount of sauce remains in the pan. I reserve this in a small serving bowl just in case my wife needs more sauce)
6. Place the sliced and reheated tonkatsu, broccolini and poached egg on the top.
7. I topped everything off with some tonkatsu sauce.

We like this hybrid katsudon. Since I poached the eggs, it is much easier to consistently get a runny yolk and cooked egg white compared to the traditional method of topping with lightly beaten eggs which often results in overcooked yolk and undercooked white. Because I do not cook the tonkatsu in the liquid, the crust remains crispy.