Eileen's Cooking and Eating Adventures: April 2012

I have been very busy with work that I had to work through the weekend leaving me no time to cook nor blog. My last and only post for this month was on the first day of April. I missed being in the kitchen so much that I made sure that I managed my work load this week so that on the weekend I can spend some time cooking. So glad and satisfied that I finally did :)

I was planning on trying out a new recipe but there was a request from the family that I make an old favorite that I have not done in a while. I decided to give in to the request and made everyone's favorite Tonkatsu. So happy that I did, because everyone kept complementing me about how delicious it was. Seeing everyone's happy and satisfied faces made me remember how much you can touch people with your cooking. I know I will never be an expert like a Chef but I will do my best to become a very good Cook, whose dishes hopefully will bring smiles to those I share them with.

Since my last post about this dish I have made some changes to the preparation that have resulted in a better tasting and tender dish. I would like to share with you my improved recipe for Tonkatsu. You will need the following:

4 pieces of butterfly cut pork

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

vegetable oil for deep frying

meat tenderizer

1. The night before flatten the pork pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Then add some meat tenderizer, I just eyeball it. Place in the fridge overnight. By seasoning the pork pieces overnight your meat will be more flavorful.

2. The next day individually dredge the pork in flour, then dip in egg, then coat and pat with panko bread crumbs.

3. Place enough oil in a pan for deep frying. Just make sure that you control the heat you do not want to oil to be too hot that it burns the bread crumbs quickly. Deep-fry on both sides until golden brown, then drain on paper towels.

4. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, then cut tonkatsu into pieces. Serve with shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce.

Recipe for tonkatsu sauce:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup mirin

1 tablespoon sugar

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. This will make about 3 cups of sauce, refrigerate the extra sauce, this will keep for about a week.

For the last couple of weeks everyone seems to be going crazy about Magnum. The craze was spread via social media, it seemed everyone needed to get a taste of this Belgian chocolate vanilla ice cream bar. Demand was so high that there was a supposed shortage with supermarket freezers being left empty for days.

To be perfectly honest I had to plans of giving in to the Magnum craze, however for several weeks the Little Girl would drop hints now and then about how she was wondering how Magmum would taste, that she heard this and this talking about how good the ice cream bar. Each time I told her that if she would willingly do her chores for a month I would reward her with this treat. But tonight I gave in, at the dinner table my Mom also dropped a hint that she would love to taste this, and then somebody mentions that they just heard that the nearby village grocery store just got a new delivery of Magnum. So with hints coming from so many family members I decided shell out the money, though I must say it was begrudgingly .

So how did everyone feel about their first taste of Magnum? They all fell head over heels in love with it. I kept hearing how they loved the Belgian chocolate coating and just how smooth and creamy the vanilla ice cream was. As for me I was not too crazy about it, found the chocolate coating and the ice cream way too sweet for my taste, but I have never been a sweets person. But hey the important thing is the Little Ones enjoyed their first taste of Magnum, those precious smiles with lips smeared with vanilla ice and melted chocolate make worth its price.