Instructions: * Note 1: Use your favorite steak sauce and mix with ketchup to sweeten. You can also mix in lemon juice, to add a touch of sourness. A-1 or 76 steak sauce, or even Worcestershire sauce alone, goes well, too.

* Note 2: To prepare cabbage slices: Thin-slice 8 cabbage leaves and soak in cold water. Drain well and use them as a garnish for the tonkatsu.

Tenderize the meat and flatten to about 1/2-inch thick. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Coat the meat with flour and shake off the excess. Dip the meat into the egg, then the bread crumbs on a platter. Chill the meat in the freezer for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for 2 hours. This chilling process gives the tonkatsu a crispy crust.

Deep-fry (350 degrees) until each side is light to medium golden brown. Drain the oil well and serve with the garnish. Slices of tomato will add some color.

To tonkatsu-fry seafood or other types of meat, follow the same directions. Of course, you have to peel the shells of shrimps. Oysters are our favorite choice. In Japan a bowl of miso soup usually comes with this dish. Bon Appetit!

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Comments:
This recipe also works very well with beef, chicken, oysters, and large shrimps or prawns.

Japanese-Style Potato Salad (see recipe) goes very well with this dish. Coleslaw would be nice, too. Also, Japanese or Chinese yellow (hot) mustard can give some sensation to your taste buds.

You can prepare biifu-katsu (beef cutlet) using the same directions.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.