Kushikatsu

Small pieces on skewers in a batter rather than egg wash, with one dip of the shared sauce.

Pork, Shellfish, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains pork, shellfish.

Ingredients

the skewers

• 300 g pork loin, in 3 cm cubes
• 8 prawns
• 1 onion, in wedges held by a skewer
• 200 g lotus root, in rounds
• 8 quail eggs, boiled
• 150 g asparagus, in lengths
• bamboo skewers

the coating

• 150 g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 200 ml water
• 200 g fine panko
• oil, for deep frying

Method

1. A THIN BATTER, NOT FLOUR-EGG-CRUMB. Flour, egg and water whisked to a single batter the thickness of single cream, then straight into panko. The three-stage coating used for the tonkatsu on this site is too heavy for pieces this small -- it swamps them.
2. FINE PANKO, crushed a little if yours is coarse. Big flakes on a 3 cm cube look and eat wrong.
3. SMALL PIECES AND ONE KIND PER SKEWER, so everything on a skewer cooks at the same rate. Mixed skewers give raw pork beside burnt asparagus.
4. Thread firmly and leave a clear handle at one end.
5. Dip in batter, let the excess run off, then press into panko, covering everything except the handle.
6. Oil at 170C. Lower than for a single cutlet, because several small pieces drop the temperature fast and need cooking through.
7. Four or five skewers at a time, 2 to 3 minutes, turning, until even gold.
8. Drain standing in a jar or on a rack so the coating does not sit in oil.
9. ONE DIP ONLY, INTO THE SHARED SAUCE, and it is not squeamishness but the rule the dish is eaten by -- the communal pot is dipped into once per skewer and never after a bite has been taken. Shredded cabbage is on the table to scoop extra sauce with instead.
10. Serve as they come out of the oil, a few at a time, rather than all at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes