Menchi Katsu (Japanese Deep-Fried Breaded Minced Meat Patty)
Menchi katsu is a Japanese deep-fried minced meat cutlet that combines ground pork and beef with finely diced onion, shaped into thick patties, coated in flour, egg, and coarse panko breadcrumbs, then fried until the crust turns a deep golden brown. The panko creates a layered, craggy shell that shatters on the first bite, revealing a steaming, juice-filled interior. Caramelized onion mixed into the meat adds a natural sweetness that balances the richness of the pork and beef. It is eaten with a drizzle of Worcestershire or tonkatsu sauce. In Tokyo, buying one fresh from a neighborhood butcher shop and eating it on the spot is a long-standing tradition, and the menchi katsu sandwich - pressed between slices of milk bread - has become a category of its own.
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Instructions
- 1
Finely chop onion, saute until translucent, and cool.
- 2
Mix pork, beef, egg, salt, and cooked onion until sticky.
- 3
Form thick round patties.
- 4
Coat patties in flour and then panko.
- 5
Deep-fry at 170°C for 5 to 6 minutes until cooked through.
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