Chanko nabe!

So, after watching this video by Runnyrunny999 I decided to try my hand at chanko nabe.

Chanko nabe basically means "sumo wrestler stew" (according to Raani-san), but this recipe isn't loaded with fat or anything. Sumo wrestler fat is actually very interesting, because of the amount they exercise, the fat doesn't penetrate the muscle or anything. The amount of rice they eat is what loads on the calories.



This is most of the ingredients here. I already had some dashi soup stock in the pot. Dashi is made from konbu (a kind of pressed kelp sheet thing, I think) and bonito flakes. You let it all rest in cold water for about twenty minutes and then you simmered it for a couple minutes, and then you strain out all the little fish flakes and such. It's used in a good portion of Japanese soups and dipping sauces.

Here we have tofu, aburage (which is deep fried tofu), enokidake (the white, thin mushrooms), shitaki (you're probably familiar), carrots and cabbage.



This is a small package of ground chicken with grated garlic and ginger, and a shot of soy sauce and sake. You mix this together really well, and make into small balls to drop into the soup.



I put the ingredients that would take a little longer to cook into the pot first. That includes the cabbage, carrots and the chicken balls.



I think I may have put too much into the pot already. I ended up putting most of the super firm tofu into a tupperware container with clean (filtered in my case), cold water. I only made a couple chicken balls, the rest also went into the refrigerator. The mushrooms basically covered everything up.



And here's the money shot. Don't you want to eat this up? We had white rice with this.

Zettai ni Katsu!

The title above is another attempt at a clever pun. It could be read two ways: "It's definitely katsu (pork cutlet)" or "I'll definitely win!". Who doesn't win when delicious katsu are involved?



For the katsu, I took some bone free, thinner pork chops and beat them thinner with the bottom of a heavy bottle ('cause I'm classy and have every tool I need). This also has the added bonus of making the pork tender.



A three stage dipping arrangement. Flour (spiked with black pepper and salt), beaten egg with water (I used three eggs which turned out to be too much and about a tablespoon of water), and panko (which we've discussed before).



Don't start getting nervous because now we are going to deep fry. It'll be easy, you take a large heavy pan (cast iron if you've got it) and put about an inch of high smoke point oil (canola for example) and you put your heat on about medium high. Drop a little bit of your beaten egg into the oil and if it starts sizzling immediately, it's hot enough (alternatively you can use a fry thermometer and test for about 350F). Boost the heat a little bit after you put fresh batch of food in the pan because the cold food will drop the temperature. Lower the heat after it has regained the temperature that you want.

Isn't that simple?

Deep fry the cutlets until 165 degrees F and let rest perhaps five minutes. The cooling rack keeps them suspended so they can drip and not get soggy while they cool down. When they're cool enough to handle, cut them into strips.



A little shredded cabbage and some rice are the usual companions. That brown sauce is actually labeled "Katsu Sauce". It's kind of like a BBQ sauce that tastes like Worcestershire sauce. I used to make my own, but that was by just combining other prepackaged sauces, so, in the end it all comes out in the wash.

Some people put the sauce directly on the katsu because it looks pretty. And while I agree with the aesthetic, depending on how slow you eat the sauce can make your katsu soggy, which kind of defeats the purpose of breading and frying it in the first place. I guess I'm just a "sauce on the side" kind of girl.

In any event, deep frying can definitely be done at home, and you know everything that went in there because you put it there.

Try it out and let me know what you think.