A Night In: Katsudon

Sometimes I get a little caught up in studying and the way I like to kind of turn my mind off is cook.  So instead of venturing out into the streets of Las Vegas I decided to make an easy dish or dishes rather.  Well I couldn't decide between Chicken and Pork Katsudon so...I made both!  I wish I took more pictures, but like I said, I kind of shut my mind off and when the finished product was ready I then realized "hmm, this probably would have made a good post!"  I'll at least run through the ingredients and quick rundown, but bear with me because I do not measure, everything is to taste!

For the pork i used boneless pork loin and for the chicken i used de-boned chicken thighs.  The meats are first dredged with flour, then coated with an egg wash before being covered by panko crumbs.  The coated meat is then put into hot oil until golden brown and with that you have the Katsu element of the dish done.
Next you gather water, soy sauce, dashi powder(fish stock), sugar and mirin(rice cooking wine.)

You add water to a pan then dashi powder to flavor, remember this is done to taste but be wary that the powder can get salty so add accordingly.  You then add a dash of soy sauce and mirin then finish with a small sprinkle of sugar to sweeten the sauce, all added to taste.  You can now add some sliced onion to the sauce if that is your preference.  You bring this to a boil as you slice your fried Katsu to lay onto the boiling broth which is then covered by a crack egg(yolk broken,) try to keep the slices in order, it's easier to handle that way.  The pan is covered until the egg is cooked to preferred consistency(some like the egg a little more raw than others I go for a little gooey myself.)  Remember the amount of sauce you start with is important because this will cook off in the process and the more sauce you make translates to more broth in your dish, my general rule is the broth be at least halfway up the meat when it starts to boil.  With time you get the hang of the whole process.  Last but not least you put rice in a bowl or plate(I use a bowl-plate :P) and transfer the goodies from pan to top of rice making sure to get all the goodies and sauce as well.  Hopefully it looks something like this...

Pork on the Left Chicken on the right...Can you tell I left a huge fried chicken skin on the plate?? o_O'

As you can see, I go for the "rustic," style of plating but you get the general idea!  Anyways, back to studying, at least until my next craving :)