1.302
3 (Wed) November 2010
Tonkatsu
2.0
at The Kimchi Jjigae
-Sinchon, Seodaemun, Seoul, Korea-
with MtG, CBD
Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish. Pork cutlet, breaded and deep-fried. The name derives from the Japanese word for pork or pig (ton) and the English word “cut” (katsu). Similar to Austrian schnitzel, which may have been the progenitor of the Japanese version. Typically served with a brown, worchestershire-based sauce.
In Korea, tonkatsu is totally mainstream, available in every beer bar, every corner restaurant, even restaurants specializing in kimchi jjigae. In most cases, the offerings are weak, a sliver of dry meat overfried in a thin, oily breading-like covering. Recently, new specialty restaurants have been making tonkatsu more “authentically” Japanese, with thicker, juicier cuts of pork, and panko breading that’s light and flaky.
MtG announced that he was taking his new, mysterious, reportedly hot girlfriend to The Kimchi Jjigae (see 1.279 Kimchi Jjigae), so the camping crew converged. She turned out to be quite hot.
