Pork Cutlet ポークカツレツ

This dish is looking into a bit of history on Japanese "Western" dishes. This dish may look like "Tonkatsu" トンカツ but this is the predecessor of Japanese tonkatsu and called "poku katsuretsu" ポークカツレツ and it is closer to Western "cutlet" than tonkatsu. ("katsu" in "ton-katsu" is a short for "katsuretsu" but you do not say "tonkatsuretsu" to mean "tonkatsu"). When a famous and pioneering yoshoku restaurant, "Renga tei" 煉瓦亭 in Ginza, opened in 1895 (it is still in business today), started serving Western cuisine to Japanese, they had to make some modifications to the original Western dish to accommodate Japanese taste. These variation reportedly formed the basis of Japanese "yoshoku". For example, instead of sautéing breaded thin pieces of meat in a small amount of oil or butter in a frying pan as Western cutlets are usually prepared, they deep dried them as though making tempura (another foreign derived Japanese dish which was introduced to Japan from Portugal much earlier). They also used pork instead of veal for this dish. This eventually became tonkatsu トンカツ using pork fillets or chops rather than thinly pounded meat.

I used a pork fillet cut into small medallions (1 inch thick) and then pounded very thin. I also used some end pieces and trimmings of pork fillets (this time I used mostly trimmings). I breaded them in the standard way; seasoned with salt and pepper, dredged in flour, dipped in egg water and coated with Panko bread crumbs (left upper in the image below). I used a small amount of light olive oil (less than quarter of an inch deep) on medium low flame as seen in the right upper of the image below. After a few minutes, I turned them over and fried the the other sides until browned and the meat was done (few more minutes, left lower image below) and drain excess oil (right lower image below).

I served this with Pennsylvania Dutch noodles and steamed broccoli. On the side I put, Japanese hot mustard and tonkatsu sauce. Because the breading/meat ratio is different from tonkatsu, this tastes different from tonkatsu. It is dominated by the crispy crust and is very good in its own right. Leftovers make a mighty fine sandwich particularly if the mustard/tonkatsu sauce is used on the bread.

We had this with a decent Napa Cab from wine reseller Cameron Hughes wine called "lot 200". Cameron Hughes supposedly buys excess "juice" from "famous", "big-name" wine makers (mostly Napa) and bottles it under his label with a simple designation of a "lot number". We first tried CH wines after reading a WSJ article. The idea is that the original big name wineries get cash they needed but do not ruin their reputations by fire sales of their wines. We consumers get a good deal and CH makes money in the process. So everybody wins. We tried a few CH wines and most of them are decent and worth the price. This lot 200 is one of the higher priced CH wines and is a classic Napa Cab with a medium body. Not quite a high-end Napa but a very pleasant wine. Only problem with CH wines is, when you find something you like, you can never go back and buy the same wine again.

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.

"Tonkatsu" pork cutlet with sous vide pork 低温調理のトンカツ

We like tonkatsu トンカツ and make it occasionally. Although in Japan, serving undercooked pork is not unusual especially when using SPF pork from specific named-producers (although it does not specifically say it is cysticercus free, I am sure the risk is extremely low). I am sure American pork is relatively safe as well but I, just to be safe, make sure I cook pork completely. In the Weber grill, I roast pork using indirect heat to the inner temperature of 145F as per USDA standard. (Actually, I start going down to the grill when it reads 142F, by the time I am ready to remove the pork from the grill, the temperature will reach 145F). I previously posted sous vide pork tenderloin at 140F for 3 hours which appears to be safe for both bacteria and cysticercus. Going back to tonkatsu, I usually insert an instant digital thermometer in the center of the meat until it registers 140F but it is not easy to get it right. Many times,  the pork is a bit overcooked (since I err on the side of overcooking). To eliminate this anxiety of under or over cooking, I decided to try making tonkatsu from sous vide cooked pork tenderloin. This is what it looks like. I only deep fried it for a total of 1 minute  since the meat itself was precooked. As you can see the center looks slightly pink. It tasted great with a nice fried bread crust. So why is the center is pink?

I sous vide cooked pork tenderloin seasoned with salt and pepper at 140F for 4 hours which is more than enough to completely cook the pork and render it safe. I soaked the vacuum packages after completion of cooking in ice water for 30 minutes to quick cool down before moving them to the meat drawer of the refrigerator for future use. Just before making it into tonkatsu, I sliced it and the cut surfaces were totally homogenous and gray (see below).

So, the only explanation I can come up with is the oxygen exposure. The pork was cooked in a vacuum but after it was breaded and deep fried, oxygen may have bound to myoglobin to make a slightly pink color. This was an  interesting experiment and  proof of concept. I am not sure I will do this as a regular way to cook tonkatsu, though.

Topping of Katsu-Don カツ丼のあたま

A few days ago, I made “tonkatsu トンカツ” or pork cutlets from frozen pork chops we had in the freezer. I made much more than we could finish in one evening meal. To use up the left-over tonkatsu, I made katsu-don or “katsu-don-no-atama カツ丼の頭 which was the katsu-don pork topping without the rice base. (We were not hungry enough to eat the addition of rice). Japanese refer to this dish as katsu-don head. Since I used left-over tonkatsu which was heated up in the toaster oven, I did not simmer the tonkatsu in a broth or add the egg on the top. Instead, I simmered sliced onion in seasoned broth and when the onion was cooked, I added a beaten egg and cooked until most of the egg was cooked but some was still uncooked (I used a pasteurized egg). I added salt broth soaked snap peas スナップ豌豆の塩びたし for color. Then, I placed the sliced tonkatsu on top. Without rice, this was a perfect sized dish for us that evening.

Ingredients:
Tonkatsu (pork cutlet sliced) (Either freshly cooked or left overs heated in the toaster oven.)
1/2 small onion, sliced
Green beans or snap peas (cooked) for garnish
One egg, beaten (I used a pasteurized egg)

Cooking liquid (the amount is somewhat arbitrary, you can make it to your liking, either sweet or salty by adjusting the sugar and soysauce)
1/3 cup Japanese dashi broth (I made it with the usual dashi packs)
1tbs mirin
2 tbs soysauce
1 tbs sugar


Directions:
In a small frying pan, add the onion and the cooking liquid and simmer for a few minutes or until the onion is cooked. Pour in the beaten egg, cover with a lid and cook until the egg is just set (to your liking, runny or more set). Add the greens and slide the entire contents onto a shallow bowl/plate. Add the slices of ton-katsu on top.

The topping of katsu-don is considered perfect as drinking snack. For us if we make “Katsu-don”, we usually divide one serving into two.

Double pork bowl ダブル豚丼

This is sort of leftover control but it was pretty good. On the previous weekend, we ended up getting quite a large pork loin roast. Instead of cooking all of it one way, I decided to divide it into two portions. From one half, I made several loin chops which I made into "tonkatsu" pork cutlet and from the other half, I made Japanese/Chinese style pot roast or "chasu" pork (in this version, I also used star anise). Toward the end of the week, I made this double pork bowl using both the tonkatsu and the pot roast.

I heated the tonkatsu in the toaster oven. For the pot roast pork, I added sliced onion and the pork with the cooking liquid in a small frying pan and cooked the onion until soft and the meat was heated up. I just put these two kinds of pork on a bed of rice.  I poured the juice from the pan over the onion and pot roast pork, then placed the sliced tonkatsu and added tonkatsu sauce. For the green, I also added blanched broccoli.

The pot roast was the very last piece left.

As leftover control dish was pretty good.

Pork cutlet bowl カツ丼

This looks like the classic lidded Japanese bowl you may see in "Taishu shokudo" 大衆食堂、which is the Japanese equivalent of American diners.  I do not remember when I got this bowl but it must have been in California. I have not used this bowl for a long time for some reason. This dish, Katsu-don カツ丼, is a classic dish being served in Japanese eateries and this bowl is perfect for it. Since we had already made pork fillet cutlets, I made this classic dish from the leftovers and frozen rice. Of course, you could make this from just fried tonkatsu and freshly cooked rice, which would be much better.

There are two distinctive styles in "Katsudon". One type is with soy sauce based broth and beaten egg anchoring everthing together called "Tamago-toji katsudon" 卵とじカツどん, which is, by far, the most popular style and is usually referred as simply "Katsudon". Another (more  regional and less popular) kind is tonkatsu dipped in semi-Western style tonkatsu "sauce" with shredded raw cabbage placed on the top of rice, which is called  "sauce Katsudon" ソースカツどん. I am from the area of Japan where the former style is the only type of Katsudon available. I personally never had a "sauce" Katsudon but I do not think I am missing much (I can easily image how that would taste). 

Here is the view with the lid off, served with beer marinated daikon. Perfect dish to make quickly on a weekday evening. I could have worked on the presentation, though.

To make this dish, you could use the special pan shown below (also perfect for Oyako-don 親 子丼) but I do not have one. Any small (8 inch) frying pan with a fitting lid will also work. You have to use one pan for making one serving. So, in our case, I use two 8 inch frying pans.

Broth/sauce: This is a typical dashi, soy sauce, mirin combination. How much and how strong the broth should be depends on personal preferences. Japanese diners tend to go with a strong broth and a small amount. My wife likes enough broth to moisten the rice adequately. I favor less broth but a bit stronger taste. For this evening, my broth is a compromise. For two servings, it iconsists of dashi (1/3 cup, instant granulated dashi dissolved in hot water), mirin (1 tbs), and soy sauce (1 tbs) but you have to taste and decide how sweet and how strong you would like the broth to be. You could also add sugar, if you like it sweet. I tasted and adjusted further (a bit more soy sauce). I seasoned it more severely than soup you will drink but not as strong as a dipping sauce.You could use any type of tonkatsu. I used "hirekatsu" ヒレカツ or fried fillet of pork.

I arranged the ingredients except for the snow peas in a small frying pan, which makes one serving. I used one medallion of pork per serving for us but I suggest two for most people; sliced in 1/3 inch (or about 1 cm) thick. For vegetables, I used fresh shiitake mushroom (one medium, stem removed but not sliced, with a decorative cut but you can not see it well in the picture), onion (1/4 medium, halved and thinly sliced) and snow peas (2 or more). I add the broth above (1/6 cup or half of what I made). Put a tight lid on the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes on a low flame. I add beaten egg (1 large) and the snow peas and cook another two minutes or so with a lid on.  I take the pan off the heat when the egg is just barely congealed in the center.

I place the cooked rice (in our case, microwaved froze leftover rice) in the bottom of the bowl and slide the topping onto the rice with all the remaining broth (The broth reduces a bit. The special pan in the picture comes in handy if you have one). Put the lid on the bowl and let it stand for a one minute or two. If you like the eggs to be a bit runny skip this last step. If you do, please use pasteurized shell eggs). If you have already made rice and tonkatsu, this is a very quick weekday evening meal. Everything tasted pretty good except my wife wanted more broth.

Pork filet mignon cutlet 豚のヒレカツ

Over 10 years ago, on one of our visits to Japan, we stayed in Kyoto (as usual) for several days. During this stay, we were taken to a "tonkatsu" トンカツrestaurant (I do not recall the name). As soon as we opened the door, the smell of deep fried pork wafted out and made us salivate. I am sure eating deep fried pork is historically a rather new introduction to Japan but it is a very popular Japanese Western-style dish. Many restaurants specialize in it and each has their secret sauce and/or special pork. Among "tonkatsu", the kind made of tenderloin or fillet mignon of pork called "hirekatsu" ヒレカツ is considered the ultimate. It is unfortunately not particularly dietetic and I have not made this for some time.

Since the weather has been very nice, even chilly in the morning and the evening, I suggested cooking "hirekatsu" outside so that we didn't have to worry about splattering the stove and the lingering smell of deep fry permeating the house. Meanwhile, we could enjoy staying outside. Our set up is shown below. This electric wok is powerful enough to heat the oil over 170C (340F) for proper deep frying.

Fillet mignon of pork: We can not get fancy kinds of pork and used just regular packaged pork tenderloin. After trimming the silver skin and excess fat, I trimmed off both ends to make the fillet a nice equal sized cylinder. I then cut the fillet into medallions about 1 inch thick. Using the palm of my hand, I pounded the fillet flat and then reshaped it into its original thickness (an attempt to tenderize). I seasoned it with salt and pepper.

Breading: I used the usual process of dredging the medallions in AP flour, putting them through a beaten egg/water wash and coating them in Japanese panko. It is best to let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours before frying since the breading will stick better.

Deep frying: As you can see in the picture above, I placed the breaded medallions of pork in the oil when the temperature is about 150C (300F) since the medallions were rather thick, I started with a relatively low temperature. It takes 7-8 minutes turning once.  After 4-5 minutes, I cranked up the heat so that the oil temperature reached 170C (340F). When the bubbles around the meat become small, I take out the thickest piece and test to make sure it is done (picture below).

Shredded cabbage: For some reason, especially when tonkatsu is involved, the vegetable accompaniment is traditionally thinly sliced raw cabbages as seen in the left in the back of the picture below. This is usually eaten with the tonkatsu sauce rather than with different dressings. I use leaves from the cabbage that are not on the surface but a few layers in but still green (not totally white). I remove the thick center veins and slice it as thin as practical then I soak it in ice water to crisp it. My wife does not like this raw cabbage and I usually end up making it some kind of coleslaw.

Pennsylvania Dutch style sweet and sour coleslaw: My wife mentioned that the only raw cabbage she ate as a child (and she really liked it) was Pennsylvania Dutch style coleslaw (shown in the little bowel in the lower left of the picture). Since I had never tasted it she decided to make if for me. I helped by chopping up the carrot and cabbage into a fine dice. The dressing calls for vinegar, sugar, egg, salt, butter and cream. It is somewhat similar to Béarnaise sauce but much sweeter. This is how my wife made it; rice vinegar (1/4 cup), sugar (1/2 cup), egg (one beaten, we used pasteurized egg) and butter (1/2 tbs) and cream (1/4 cup). Mix everything (except the cream) in a double boiler. Stirring constantly with a whisk until the sauce becomes thick. Quickly chill the mixture while stirring by putting the pan in an ice water bath. Once the mixture is completely cooled stir in the cream. Add the sauce to the carrot/cabbage mixture and let it sit at least a few hours.

For additional condiments, I also served sweet vinegar, pickled carrot, daikon and cucumber and beer marinated daikon. I also made miso soup with maneko mushroom なめこ, tofu and finely sliced scallion.

The "hirekatsu" was so good with crunchy breading and tender meat. I served it with "Bulldog" brand semi-thick tonkatsu sauce" and a Japanese mustard. You can make your own tonkatus sauce by mixing ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. My wife liked her sweet coleslaw which reminded her of her childhood but it was way too sweet for me. (With all that sugar, is it a surprise kids like it?) I realized I do not like raw cabbage as much as I thought I did.  We counteracted the ill effect of the fried food by liberally administering a good Spanish red, Portal del Montsant Santbru 2007 .

Keema curry Japanese Version キーマカレー

Keema (meaning ground meat) curry and its variation dry curry are popular in Japan. I posted  some variations of these dishes before. This is not a genuine Indian or Pakistani keema curry but a Japanese variation. One of the reasons I made this dish was to use up left-over ground pork. I am sure pork is not the kind of meat usually used in genuine keema curry. Also, it’s usually made with a premixed Japanese curry powder (I used S&B brand*) which has a taste distinctive from Indian curry flavoring. I would characterize Japanese curry powder as milder, not hot, somewhat sweeter with a somewhat different range of spices. I thought I added a good amount of Japanese curry powder to the keema and it had plenty of flavor that could described as “spicy” but it was not really hot. The dish also included many vegetables (onion, celery, carrot—almost a myripoix), garlic and ginger plus the addition of garam masala. The addition of tonkatsu sauce toward the end of the cooking was a distinctly Japanese touch that would not be found in an Indian curry. It did add to the nice complexity in flavors. We like this curry very much. I served it over rice with a sunny-side-up fried egg, rakkyo らっきょう and fukushin-zuke 福神漬け pickels and (home-pasteurized) egg with runny yolk, which are classic accompaniment for Japanese curry.

*Reportedly it contains Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Star Anise, Cloves, Cardamon, Fennel, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves, Allspice and Garlic.

Similar to what I posted before and also I consulted the recipe on-line. Instead of tomato I used Ketchup.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded deveined and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground garlic
I package brown shimeji mushroom, bottom cut off and separated (optional, I just had a package and wanted to use it up)
2 tsp or more curry powder (I used Japanese S&B brand)
1 tsp Garam Masala
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs tonkatsu sauce
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth (or more if too thick)
2 tbs olive or vegetable oil

Directions:
In a pot on medium flame, add the oil. When hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, Jalapeño pepper, garlic and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, add the curry powder, salt and pepper and stir for several more minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan, add the ketchup in the exposed bottom of the pan and sauté until color changes to dark red/brown (Maillard reaction).
Add the pork and stir and cook until the pork separated and color turns. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Add the gram masala, butter and tonkatsu sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes. If needed add more curry powder (or cayenne pepper powder).

This was a very nice refreshing change from Indian inspired curries we have been making recently. It is nicely spicy in a mild almost sweet manner. Served over rice with the accompaniment of Japanese pickles used for curries this was a very Japanese interpretation of the spicy dish known as curry.

Cabbage rolls ロールキャベツ

I do not know why and when thinly sliced raw cabbage became the most common accompaniment for Japanese Western style cuisines called "yoshoku" 洋食. It appears that a famous yoshoku restaurant in Ginza called "Rengatei" 煉瓦亭  invented raw shredded cabbage as an accompaniment for their yoshoku dishes. I suppose in contrast to "nappa cabbage" or "Hakusai" 白菜, regular cabbage is considered a "Western" vegetable, thus, an appropriate accompaniment of "Western" dishes. Although many "yoshoku" items are now considered uniquely "Japanese" dishes such as "tonkatsu" トンカツ, you can not serve tonkatsu without shredded cabbage. Another cabbage related dish, cabbage rolls, also became a classic Japanese home cooked food, although it is a Japanese modification of Western cabbage rolls. I suppose many Western cultures have similar dishes with a Polish version or American Polish version (especially in Chicago), "Gołąbki [ɡɔˈwɔmpki]", being the most famous. I mentioned previously that my old favorite "Oden-ya" おでん屋, "Katsu-ya" in Sapporo, served a Japanese version of cabbage roll or "ロールキャベツ", or "roll cabbage" as Japanese call it. My wife usually does not like cabbage and I have not made this dish for a long time but I convinced my wife that I was running out of dishes to bog and made this Japanese style cabbage roll.

The amount below is four small Japanese size cabbage rolls.

Cabbage leaves: In large scale productions, you boil an entire large head of cabbage and then separate the individual leaves. For my small scale production and small-sized cabbage rolls, I separated each cabbage leaf by first cutting into the bottom veins and then using running water (introducing it between the leaves), to separate each leaf without tearing it. (I prepared 4 leaves). I used a rather small head of cabbage. I boiled the leaves in a large pan with salted boiling water for 10 minutes covered with a plate which fit snugly inside of the pan to keep all the leaves submerged during cooking.  After the leaves were cool enough to handle I shaved off the large veins toward the bottom of the leaves without cutting through them (the #1 image below in the right back).

Stuffing: I finely minced onion (1/3 medium), carrot (1/2 medium), garlic (1 clove), and ginger (one thin slivers) which I sauteed in vegetable oil for few minutes and seasoned with salt and pepper and set aside to cool. You could also add shiitake mushroom, finely chopped, but I did not have one.

For the meat, I used trimmings from a pork tenderloin. I hand chopped it into ground pork (about 200 gram, I guess. The image #1). I mixed in the vegetables above,with bread crumbs (1/4 cup, I use panko, moistened with milk, the image #1 below in the left back). I added an egg (1 large) and seasoned it with freshly ground nutmeg, salt and black pepper. I mixed it well until the stuffing become elastic and hung together.

Assembly: As seen in the image #2, I made a small cylinder and placed it closed to the root end of the precooked cabbage leaf and rolled with the both side tucked in and made four rolls. Try not to over stuff the cabbage (the image below #3). (I had some stuffing left over. I made small patties and cooked it like a hamburger and braised it with mirin and soy sauce in teriyaki style. I served it with the side of a Japanese coleslaw. I forgot to take a picture)

Cooking: I used a Japanese-Western hybrid broth. I used Swanson non-fat reduced salt chicken broth and added bay leaves, sake, whole black pepper corns and a half a carrot (left over from the above). The cabbage rolls should fit snugly submerged in the cooking liquid (the image below #4). Of course, you could cook the cabbage rolls in "Oden" broth or tomato sauce if you like. On a very low flame, I gently simmered it with the lid mostly on and when it started boiling, I set the lid slightly askew and cooked for 40-50 minutes (I added more sake in the middle to compensate for the evaporation).

Here is the cut surface after cooking.

I served it in a small bowl with some broth and a small dab of Japanese hot mustard as would be used for oden. The stuffing was very tender and fluffy with very subtle rich flavor. The pork did not have a porky taste and seemed more like chicken. It was permeated with an interesting amalgamation of western and eastern flavors. The cabbage was also nicely cooked and not too strong. It was very soft, so much so you could cut the rolls with chopsticks. The hot Japanese mustard gave it a contrasting sharp jolt. Even my wife liked this one (it passed our "Mikey likes it" test). She particularly liked the light texture which was so different from the dense heavy classic stuffed cabbage with tomato sauce she learned to dislike as a kid. This dish will go with almost any drink but chilled G-sake was our choice.

Two days later, we reheated the cabbage rolls with snap peas. It tasted even better.

Pork chop "Tonkatsu" ロースとんかつ

I have posted pork tenderloin cutlet or "hirekatsu" ヒレカツ sometime ago. This time I made tonkatsu from pork chops which is called "rosu" ロース in Japanese. I assume it is derived from parts of pork used for "roasting". I think  Japanese "rosu"  pork is a loin and usually does not contain any bones such as ribs or shoulder blade. Compared to "filet", this cut has more fat and is considered to be the original pork cutlet in Japan. In any case, I used bone-less pork chops here.

I served it with sauteed spinach seasoned with Dijon mustard and wedges of tomato.

Although the chance of trichinosis in US pork is very low, I do not take any chances and cooked the thickest center portion to 140F.

There is no real recipe. If the pork chops have a layer of fat at the edge, I usually cut into the fat (but not the meat below) in half inch intervals. l seasoned these with salt and pepper. I dredged them in flower, egg water, and panko bread crumbs. I deep fried them in 350F peanut oil for 5 minutes and then turned them over and cooked another 3 minutes. I  make sure the center of the thickest part is 140F using either the "cut and peek"  method or using a instant digital thermometer.

This looked really large but we ended up basically eating it all. We like "rosu" tokatus. It has more "porky" flavor and the layers of fat are sweet and succulent.

Creamy Crab Croquettes カニクリームコロッケ

I have meant to make and post this dish for some time and I'm finally doing it. These crab cream croquettes are fairly common in Japan and can be bought pre-made and frozen, just deep fry to finish at home. A similar dish is presented in the Mark Robison's Izakaya cook book (p57).  I made this as I remembered it and did not follow any particular recipe. I asked my wife if I should serve it with a sauce (Tartar sauce would be the standard but it may be served with tonkatsu or chu-no sauce とんかつソース、中濃ソース), she said just wedges of lemon to preserve the delicate flavor of the crab, which was fine with me. I also garnished it with fried crisped-up parsley.



I served 2 per person as an appetizer with baby arugula.


As you can see below the nice crunchy crust, conceals the hot creamy center stuffed with a plenty of crab meat.


One reason I was a bit hesitant to make this dish is that it takes some preparation and it can "explode" during the frying process which is sort of a disaster to say the least. Besides Mark Robison's Izakaya cookbook,  variations of this recipe in English is available elsewhere.

Ingredients (makes 8 small croquettes seen above):
Crab meat: I used fresh lump crab meat which was leftover from making monk fish medallions with lobster/crab sauce. The amount is arbitrary, the more crab meat the better. I was told that a traditional Japanese dish, uses "canned" crab but I used fresh crab meat which was fine or even better.
Onion: One medium, finely chopped.
Butter: Unsalted, about 1 oz (30g) or a bit less (see direction below).
Flour: All purpose, about 1 oz (30g)
Milk: One and 1/3 cups (or cream if you are so inclined)
Salt and white pepper, freshly ground
Lemon zest, micro grated (optional)
Panko bread crumbs, egg, flour for breading.
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep frying.

Directions:
First, I made a rather stiff Béchamel sauce. As usual, I did not measure things but the above are approximate amounts. To reduce the amount of butter, I melted the butter, sautéed the onion and then added the flour. Because the flour coated the each small piece of onion, I could reduce the amount of butter/oil to make my Béchamel. When all the dry flour was gone (several minutes, I made sure not to color the flour), I added the cold milk all at once. I whisked it to dissolve/disperse the flour and kept whisking until thickened. I switched to a silicon spatula and kept mixing until the mixture had the consistency of firm mustard but not quite as firm as polenta. I mixed in the crab meat and seasoned it with salt and white pepper. On the fly, I decided to add some micro-grated lemon zest but this is optional (other things can be added such as chopped boiled eggs or creamed corn etc). I then dumped the mixture onto an aluminum foil-lined, oiled (I used light olive oil) cookie sheet and spread it out to fill the cookie sheet. I covered it with another sheet of aluminum foil and refrigerated it for an hour or until the mixture became firm (#1 below). After, the mixture stiffened, I divided the mixture into 8 portions using a slicon spatula (#2). Since it was still a bit soft, I refrigerated it for several more hours.



After coating my hands with olive oil,  I formed each portion into small cylinders (or "tawara" shape 俵, #3). I could have made oval patties but this shape was what my mother used to make and I am  following her lead. I then breaded the cylinders as per usual with, flour, egg water and panko bread crumbs (#4). At this point I had the choice of deep frying it immediately or freezing it either a short period (for 30 minutes) or completely (freezing helps prevent the dreaded exploding croquette). Since I was running out of time and we had other items to eat that evening, I decided to freeze it,

The next evening, I removed the croquettes from the freezer and deep fried, without defrosting, for an evening appetizer (#5). I used a smaller sauce pan instead of my usual frying pan so that the depth of the oil was enough to submerge the croquettes (another  precaution to prevent an explosion). At 350F turning several times, I fried it for 5-7 minutes (#6).

To summarize: The steps I take to avoid a croquette explosion are: 1. make the Béchamel somewhat stiffer than usual,  2. refrigerate or, even better, freeze the croquettes before frying, 3. Fry the croquettes at a temperature of 350F or a bit higher and use enough oil so that a crust will immediately form all around.

This was a bit of work but, at the end, it was worth it. We wrapped up the remaining 4 frozen coquettes, I  first wrapped them in a plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and placed them in a Ziploc bag and placed back to the freezer for a future feast. This was definitely a very decadent and excellent dish to start the evening. The crunchy crust with the unctuous soft hot interior tasting of sweet crab is irresistible.

Miso flavored ground pork donburi 豚肉味噌丼

I frequently purchase pork tenderloin. Although I sometimes make "Tonkatsu" トンカツor "Hirekatsu" ヒレカツ from it, my most common way of cooking it is to rub it with a combination spices (the combination changes frequently but the most common ones are either chopped fresh rosemary with salt and pepper or a mixture of smoked Spanish paprika, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, and salt). I then bake it in a low-temperature oven (350F convection oven for 30 minutes) or grill it on the Weber grill. When I prep the tenderloin, I usually cut off the head and tail portions so that the rest of the tenderloin will be a uniform size and cook evenly.  I use these trimmings for many dishes but I most often hand chop them into ground pork. This is one of the dishes I made using pork tenderloin trimmings.



This is a variation of meat "soboro" 肉そぼろ. I posted one with chicken and soy sauce flavor. This one is pork with miso flavor for a change. I used this one night as a topping for cubes of warm tofu or 肉味噌豆腐 and from the leftovers, I made this donburi dish 肉味噌丼.



I just placed a runny yolk poached egg ( I used Pasteurized shell eggs) in the center of the bowl with warm cooked rice in it and then surrounded the egg with miso-flavored ground pork. I garnished it with chopped chives.

Ingredients:
Ground pork (Probably about half pound), miso (4 tbs), sugar (1 tbs) mirin (3 tbs) and sake (2 tbs), scallion (finely chopped, 4 stalks), ginger (finely chopped to taste) and Japanese single flavored red pepper flakes (to taste) .

The ratio of the meat to the sauce is rather arbitrary and depends of how you are going to use it. For a donburi dish, you may want to have a larger quantity and thinner sauce. For topping, you may want the sauce to be a bit drier. The amount of sweetness is also up to your taste.

I first cooked the ground pork in a frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil (or sesame oil if you so prefer). Once the color changed, I took it off the heat and set aside.

In the same frying pan, I added more vegetable oil and sautéed the chopped ginger until fragrant (you can also add garlic here). I mixed the miso, sugar, mirin and sake in a small bowl and poured it into the frying pan. When the sauce heated up, I added the red pepper flakes and the meat. I constantly stirred on medium heat until the sauce thickened to my liking. I let it cool and kept it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for later use.

For this dish, I took the miso flavored ground pork which I made several days ago out of the refrigerator. I heated it up in a small sauce pan. The sauce was not enough and too thick for this dish so I added a mixture of miso, mirin and sake to make more sauce.

My wife is not particularly fond of the flavor of miso, red pepper and ground pork for some reason. The sauce was not too hot but she added a small mount of yogurt to hers. The combination of freshly cooked rice with salty, nutty, sweet miso flavor which were mixed with egg yolk is pretty good, at least, for me. We had this one as a "shime" 〆 or ending dish of the evening and was quite satisfying.

Chicken cutlet 鶏のカツレツ

This is not blogworthy but I needed a padding post. When I made tsukune, I reserved the nicest solid pieces of meat from the chicken thighs with all the fat and small muscle removed (skin off) after using the rest to make hand chopped ground chicken. I just placed them in a small Ziploc bag smothered in sake for later use. We found that marinading the chicken (or other meat for that matter) with sake makes it last longer and tenderizes it. I made this dish one evening.

I seasoned the chicken thigh meat with salt and pepper. Dredged with flour, egg water and panko bread crumbs.  Instead of deep frying, I shallow fried with not more than 3 tbs of oilve oil in a small (8 inch) frying pan. I fried it in medium-low flame for few minutes on each side until just done. I served this with tonkatsu sauce with Japanese hot mustard, my wife's baked cauliflower, olive and chick peas, mushed baked butternut squash (with butter and honey added). These are just a simple good combination. 

We had this with a very unusual Spanish wine made of 100% cabernet frank, Bodegas Los Aljibes Castilla Leon Cabernet Franc 2007. This one got 93 from Wine Advocate. I am not a big fan of Cab frank especially 100% cab frank. I am not sure I would give 93 for this wine. For me it is 89-90. Nevertheless, this food and wine combination was certainly nice enough for a weekday.

Potato croquette with Sous vide chicken breast コロッケとスーヴィー鳥の胸肉のネギソース

Potato croquette in Japan also known as "Poteto Korokke" ポテトコロッケ was apparently modeled after a French dish "croquette" but it is one of the most popular Japanese-style Western dishes or "Yoshoku" 洋食 . It was invented probably shortly after Japan opened to Western cultures towards the end of the 19 century.  Instead of the béchamel sauce used in the original French version, the Japanese version uses mashed potato. (The béchamel sauce version is called "cream korokke" クリームコロッケ in Japan and usually contains crab meat and may be called "Kani korokke" かにコロッケ).  As a "seasoning", minced and sautéed onion and ground meat are usually added but only in small amounts. Potato korokke has been a symbol of a cheap side dish* which can be bought at a "Souzai-ya" 惣菜屋  or "side-dish store"（Any dish other than rice is regarded as a side dish; rice being the main show). More recently, traditional Souzai-ya have mostly disappeared and been replaced by the basement floor of department stores or "Depachika デパチカ.

*Digression alert: "Song of Korokke" コロッケの歌 was reportedly popular in the Taishou era 大正時代 (1912-1926). The first verse goes like this;

"I was so happy I got married 
But my wife serves me
Korokke today, Korokke tomorrow, and Korokke everyday all year long
this was not what I expected (after getting married)...".

Thus, this song fixed the status of potato korokke as a cheap side dish heavily relied upon by neophyte/incompetent (culinary skill wise) housewives as a quick fix supper.

One weekend evening, I made potato korokke served with tonkatsu sauce とんかつソース and Japanese hot mustard (picture above).



Potato korokke:
Mashed potato*: white potato (4, medium), cooked and mashed, seasoned with butter and salt and cooled.

*Any kind of mashed potato will do but I like to leave some small chunks of potato for texture. This time, instead of making the mashed potato from scratch, I made this from the leftover mashed potatoes my wife made the day before when we barbecued a pork loin in our Weber grill. She microwaved the potato (4 medium) for 7-8 minutes or until cooked and mashed it mixing in a package of cream cheese spread (this one was "garden vegetables" flavor) and seasoned with salt and pepper. The addition of cream cheese spread is my wife’s new idea which she developed while we were on vacation. Cream cheese spread with "chives and onion" is probably better for this.

Onion: one large, finely minced, sautéed in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Meat*: Any ground meat will do. This is seasoning but not the main ingredient so the amount is arbitrary but not too much. The ground meat is cooked with the onion. Let it cool down.

*Again, I deviated and used several slices of the barbecued pork loin finely diced since this was available.

I mixed the mashed potato, onion, and pork. You could further season the mixture if you like.  "Curry" flavor (by adding any of your favorite curry powder) is very popular, at least, when I lived in Japan. I used an ice cream scoop to portion it out on an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet. I moistened my hands and formed the potato mixture into flat oval shapes (I made a total of 9 good sized ones).  The temperature greatly affects the consistency of the mixture. Initially, the mixture was very stiff but by the time I formed the patties, it had become rather soft. I placed the cookie sheet into the refrigerator uncovered until I was ready to cook (for several hours) to firm up the patties before breading.

I dredged with flour, dipped in egg water and coated with "Panko" bread crumbs (see below).



I deep fried the patties in peanut oil at 350F for 5 minutes on each side turning once.



In this case, Korokke was the main dish and, on the side, I also served sous vide chicken breast. I prepared (seasoned with salt and pepper and vacuum packed) this chicken breast sometime ago and froze it. One of my previous tries at sous vide cooking salmon that was still frozen did not yield a good result and I decided to thaw the chicken before sous vide cooking it. As before I cooked at 140F for 2 hours, which is enough to make the chicken safe to consume. This time I also made "Negi so-su" ネギソース or scallion sauce and put it over the chicken. My wife made a baked acorn squash seasoned with salt, honey and butter. I also added steamed and butter sautéed green beans.

Scallion sauce: I am sure there are many recipes for this but I took shortcuts. I thinly sliced scallions including the green parts (more the better). I added small amount of grated ginger and garlic (both from the tubes), and ponzu-soy sauce (from the bottle). I tasted it and added mirin for sweetness.

Acorn squash: I halved an acorn squash with a heavy chef's knife. My wife took over and cleaned the "guts”-seeds and membrane, placed it cut side down on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet and baked it for 45 minutes at 350 degree. When done, she scooped out the meat using a spoon, seasoned with butter, honey, and salt.

This was quite good. The chicken meat was very moist and the rather assertive negi sauce went well. Of course, the main item, "potato korokke" had a nice crunchy crust with a flavorful soft center and was great. We do not mind having this today, tomorrow and everyday!

Fried meat ball メンチカツ

This dish brings back the memories from my childhood. This type of deep fried minced meat dish is considered a very "homey" dish in Japan.  These type of dishes, however, are now widely available freshly prepared in many stores including the basement gourmet food floors of department stores in Japan. Any breaded and fried dish which uses "minced" meat is called "minchi or menchi katsu" ミンチカツ or メンチカツ which is short for a "minced meat cutlet". More detailed discussion of this subject can be found here, although the discussion is in Japanese.

Another variation is Japanese potato croquets コロッケ made of mashed potatoes with minced pork and onion, breaded and deep fried. In the "old days", it was said that, depending on your economic condition at any given time, the ratio of the meat and potato varied. For example, just before payday, many housewives would get by making croquettes made of 100% potatoes and onions. In any case, this is what my mother used make. It is a cross between "menchi-katsu" and "croquets". Now this is a perfect dish in Home Izakaya.

I usually use the raw trimmings and scraps left over from preparing pork tenderloins for other dishes. A more fatty portion of meat like pork shoulder may make this dish better. I mince the pork with my knife but, of course, you could use a food processor or buy ground pork, beef or a mixture of ground meat. Sauté minced onion, garlic and chopped Shiitake mushroom (optional) in a small amount of vegetable oil until soft. Season with salt and pepper and let it cool to room temperature and mix in the minced pork and chopped parsley.  I add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, freshly ground nutmeg, egg, Japanese "Panko" bread crumbs. Mix well and make golf-ball size balls. Dredge it in flour, egg water, then panko. Deep fry until golden brown. I like to serve this with "tonkatsu sauce" and hot Japanese mustard.

For the accompaniment, I made a type of coleslaw. Although, finely shredded raw cabbage will be the traditional side for this dish, my wife does not particularly like it. So I made this coleslaw. Shred or finely julienne cabbage, salt it lightly and let it stand for 5-10 minute. Ring out moisture from the cabbage. I added julienned carrot and cucumber for color. This time, I dressed it with my version of honey mustard dressing. The dressing is made of Dijon mustard, honey, rice vinegar and olive oil with salt and pepper to taste. You could use other dressings such as mayonnaise or sesame oil and soy sauce vinaigrette dressing instead.

Chicken patty with perilla つくねの大葉焼き

This is a variation of "Tsukune" つくね or Japanese style chicken patty. You could make this with any variation of seasonings. For this one, besides ground chicken, I added chopped shallot, a small amount of miso, grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce and mirin. As a binder, I also added potato starch and small amount of beaten egg. Unfortunately, I did not measure anything but you could always cook a small portion of the meat mixture and taste to adjust the seasonings. I make a flat oval about the size of perilla leaves and attach perilla leaves on both side. On medium-low heat, I fried it in a small amount of olive oil, for several minutes on both sides or until done. You could make a sauce with mirin and soy sauce towards the end of cooking to make the sauce thicken and cling to the patties but I just served it with tonkatsu sauce and Japanese hot mustard.

The perilla becomes crispy and adds its distinctive flavor. Miso make nice nutty and salty taste and it did not need any sauce. Again a simple quick dish but excellent with sake, nonetheless.

Yakitori donburi 焼き鳥丼

Yakitori donburi 焼き鳥丼

This a quick "donburi" dish using left over "Yakotori". "Donburi" 丼, which is often shorten to "don", refers to a large (relative to a regular rice bowl) Japanese bowl, like the one seen below. It can also refer to the food placed in the bowl. The basic construction of a "donburi" dish is a bed of cooked rice with whatever toppings may be available accompanied by a small amount of savory sauce. This is a very typical "whole-meal-in-a-bowl" affair. Many Japanese fast food chain restaurants are specialized in this type of dish. Am

ong the most popular are "oyako donburi" 親子丼, which is a combination of chicken and egg  ("oyako" means "mother and offspring", for obvious reason), "gyudon" 牛丼 which is made with small cut-up pieces of seasoned beef, "ten-don" 天丼 which is topped with "tempura", and "katsu-don" カツ丼 which features breaded and deep fried pork cutlet called "tonkatsu". Although I have not tried it, "Yakitori donburi" is reportedly served as a lunch item in a famous Yakitori restaurant in Tokyo. This dish appears to place freshly made Yakitori (2-5 skewer-worth depending on the price) on the bed of rice with some Yakitori "tare" sauce.

When we make Yakitori at home,  we usually will have a good amount of left-overs. When I have thigh or liver left over from a barbecue, I make my version of Yakitori donburi. (I save the left-over barbecued wings and drumettes to re-heat in the toaster oven to eat crispy and hot by themselves). If I have grilled vegetables I add them to the donburi as well.

This time, I used left-over Yakitori liver,  thinly sliced onion, shiitake  mushroom, and greens (here, I used arugula but spinach, broccoli, green beans, snow pea all work well). In a small frying pan, arrange the ingredients except for fast cooking greens such as spinach and arugula. Add a mixture of mirin, dashi, and soy sauce in about equal amounts (or use a commercial Japanese noodle sauce diluted with water). Please make sure that the broth is not too salty since it will reduce during cooking). The liquid should just barely cover the ingredients, cover the pan and simmer until the onion is soft and cooked (10 minutes). Add the greens to cook just for few minutes. At this point, the broth should be reduced to a small amount. My wife likes more broth/sauce than I do. I like just a small amount of strong tasting sauce to moisten the underlying rice rather than enough sauce to make the rice too wet. It's a personal preference, however, and the initial strength and amount of the broth need to be adjusted accordingly. Slide the topping and sauce on the bed of hot rice. I sprinkle "sansho" powder which is a Japanese version of finely ground Sichuan pepper.

Shio-koji marinated pork loin and chicken tenderloins 塩麹漬け豚ヒレと鶏笹身の唐揚げ

I posted dishes using shio-koji 塩麹 more than several times. I thought that, in general, the virtue of shio-koji was a bit over hyped.  Since the shio-koji I made from dried shio-koji was getting old (although it still looked and smelled OK), I decided to replace it with some store-bought prepared shio-koji in a small plastic pouch (see picture on the left). It appears that the rice kernels in this one are much softer than the ones from dry shio-koji. I had an extra tail potion of pork tenderloin and two chicken tenderloins which I removed when I was preparing chicken breast from bone-in split chicken breast, I decided to make a small appetizer "kara-age"  with these using shio-koji.

Because of the sugar/starch in the shi-koji, the cooked meat came out rather dark. I served it with shredded cabbage, deep fried shishi-tou シシトウ and wedges of lemon. I also served tonkatsu sauce トンカツソース and Japanese hot mustard 和芥子 on the side.



On the left are two pieces of chicken tenderloin and on the right are pieces of pork tenderloin.



Probably I overcooked a bit but still tasted ok.



I prepared both tenderloins a few days ago, I cut both into bite sized pieces, placed both in small Ziploc bags, added a small amount of shio-koji, massaged it and removed as much air as possible and sealed. I let it marinade for two days in the meat drawer in the refrigerator (a few hours to over night may have been adequate, but I did not get to it until today). In the picture below the upper one is chicken and the lower one is pork.



I blotted the surface of the meat with a paper towel and dredged with potato starch or "katakuriko" 片栗粉. I heated peanut oil to 350F and deep fried it for 5 minutes or so, turning several times during cooking. Shio-koji marination added a subtle sweet and salty flavor but I am not sure about the tenderizing effect of shio-koji, which everybody is raving about. It is variation from my usual "tatsuta-age" 竜田揚げ or "kara-age" 唐揚げ (marinade is soy sauce, mirin and grated ginger) but we sort of like the latter.

Roast pork wrapped mashed potatoマシュポテトの豚肉巻き

This is another small dish I made one evening from leftovers. We had barbequed whole pork loin on the weekend. It was seasoned with a mixture of smoked Spanish paprika, cumin, black pepper, salt  with a small amount of cinnamon and cloves.  We used this roast pork for several dinners and sandwiches. I also made a stew out of it and still a small amount remained. When we roasted the pork we also roasted potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil. We removed the skins while the potatoes were still hot, mashed them, seasoned with soy sauce, cream and butter.  A small amount of the potatoes also remained.

I just sliced the roast pork and used the slices to wrap a small cylinder of mashed potato. In a frying pan I added a small amount of olive oil and placed the rolls with the overwrapping side down. I cooked them on a low flame until they were heated through. (Since everything was pre-cooked, I just needed to warm up the pork rolls). 

While the rolls were cooking my wife asked me in pleased surprise “You’re cooking bacon?” They really smelled like bacon—there was no doubt they were from the “pork family”. I served this with cucumber salad (thinly sliced cucumber, salted, kneaded with the excess moisture rung out and dressed with a mixture of Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and cracked black pepper). I put some “Tonkatsu” sauce on the pork and also added a small dab of Japanese hot mustard on the side.
For just leftover control, this is a nice small dish perfect for a start.

Seared Pork tenderloin with smoked paprika and oregano 焼き豚フィレ肉、薫製パプリカ、オレガノ味

When I made "pork, potato, and green bean stir fry" from pork tenderloins trimmings, the two prepared pork tenderloins remained. I marinated them in sake (mostly to preserve the meat a bit longer). My default dishes for pork tenderloin are tonkatsu or hirekatsu ヒレカツ, baked in the toaster oven or scallopini. I happened to see this recipe in Milk Street magazine recently, I decided to try it for a change. It is called "seared pork tender loin with smoked paprika and oregano". My wife made PA dutch egg noodles with cream cheese and chopped chives as a accompaniment. This turned out quite good if not outstanding.

This came out just right and tender.

Ingredients: Since this was a sort of test, I only used one pork tenderloin.
One trimmed and prepared pork tenderloin, cut in half crosswise and then cut along the length of the segment leaving 1/4 inch intact (#1). Pound it lightly to flatten to 1/4 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper.
1 tbs neutral oil for searing (I used vegetable oil)

Sauce/marinade (mix all ingrediets):
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs smoked Paprika (powder).
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano

1tsp chopped fresh oregano (I did not have it so I didn't add it).

Directions:
Add the oil to a frying pan on medium high flame. When the oil is simmering/near smoking, add the pork and sear one side for 2-3 minutes without moving (#2), flip it over and sear the other side for 2 more minutes (#3), brush the sauce/marinade (I used a spoon to coat the surface with the sauce) (#4), flip again and repeat with the sauce.

I placed the pork on the plate. poured on any juice/sauce from the pan and covered with another identical pate as a lid to let the meat rest. (It could also be covered with aluminum foil for several minutes).

Although the smoked paprika flavor or oregano did not come through strongly (I am sure fresh oregano would have added good oregano flavor but I did not have it), the meat was done perfectly and was flavorful. The next day, I used the meat with avocado slices for sandwiches which was also very good. We may have to repeat this using fresh oregano. This was a different and good way to prepare pork tenderloins.