Welcome to Vol.5 of the cooking column of MANGA.TOKYO,  Anime Recipes! This is where we introduce you to and give you the recipes for dishes we find in anime!

Today we are going to cook some katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl) from the anime Yuri!!! on ICE. The skating anime is one of the hottest from the Fall 2016 season for fujoshi (otaku girls). Katsudon is introduced as main character Yuri’s favorite dish and is an important item in the anime.

First of all, katsudon is a dish with tokatsu (pork cutlet), onions, and eggs on top of rice. Tonkatsu is a port cutlet that is covered in breadcrumbs and then fried. The katsu in katsudon comes from tonkatsu and the don is from donburi, which means bowl in Japanese. Katsudon is eaten at home, of course, but you can also eat at diners, udon restaurants, and even at fast food restaurants. It’s definitely a kind of comfort food for Japanese people. It is very filling, so it is a common lunch-time dish for men who work very hard.

Katsudon is also popular as a good luck food. The katsu in katsudon is a homophone for the Japanese word ‘to win’ (勝つ katsu) so it is often eaten for good luck before sports games, exams, or negotiations. However, katsu is very high in calories, so Yuri is banned from eating it until he becomes a champion.

Well, that introduction turned out rather long. Let’s start making that katsudon!

Our Menu: Devilish Katsudon from Yuri!!! on ICE

Ingredients (2 servings)

01. Pork meat ・・・2 slices
02. salt ・・・small amount
03. black pepper ・・・small amount
04. flour ・・・proper quantity
05. breadcrumbs ・・・proper quantity
06. salad oil ・・・proper quantity
07.  Egg ・・・5 eggs
08. Steamed rice ・・・2 servings
09. Onion ・・・1/2
10. Green peas (boiled) ・・・2 teaspoons
11. Combined seasoning (combine everything below)
– water ・・・1L
– Soy sauce ・・・2 table spoons
– Mirin ・・・2 table spoons
– Sake ・・・1 table spoon
– Sugar ・・・3 tea spoons
– Dashi powder ・・・2 tea spoons

How to cook

Now we are going to make some tonkatsu. Yoshi! (ಠ o ಠ)¤=[]:::::>

Preparation

（１）Partly cut the strings of the pork meat between the fat and the meat.

Tenderize the meat with a mallet and stretched it back out to its original shape.

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the meat.

（２）Batter

Break one egg and beat it.
Put flour, egg, and breadcrumbs on the meat evenly in that order.
If you put them on twice, its makes the tonkatsu crispier.

（３）Fry

Adjust the oil to 160~170℃ and put the covered pork meat into the oil. Take it out when the meat gets brownish and drains the excess oil.

Adjust the oil to 180℃ and fry the meat twice. Cook for about 10 seconds till the color turns to golden brown, then remove from the oil.

（４）Cut

Cut the tonkatsu into whatever size you like, or just cut it like in the picture.

Now, the tonkatsu is done!
It’s good as it is, but we going to use an egg to make our katsudon.

（５）Boil

Slice the onion in thin slices.

Cook the onions and the combined seasoning in the frying pan till it boils. Then turn to low heat and keep boiling for 2~3 minutes.

When the onions are cooked, put the tonkatsu in the frying pan. Beat four eggs and put them into the pan by pouring 2/3 in a circle motion.

Turn up the heat a little, swirl the pan and then add some peas.

Pour the rest of the eggs in a circle and simmer while swirling the pan.

Finish♪

If you see the eggs half-cooked like the picture then turn off the heat.
Put them on the rice bowl. It’s done!

Eating Impressions

Fried food and rice match so much! The soft eggs and the salty-sweet sauces get mixed with the rice and they taste brilliant!

I’m going to be the beautiful katsudon!

 

Yuri from Yuri!!! on ICE

In the anime, Yuri declares katsudon as his favorite food and challenges himself to express his love for it in the ice rink. I want to make him eat this katsudon when he wins the Gold Medal.

Is there any food in your country that you eat for good luck? Please tell me in the comments! Let’s share our cooking stories and eat delicious food together! Don’t forget to check the rest of our Anime Recipes.