Those Deep Fried Dreams

The most satiating and satisfying food is deep fried. No contest. I have tried the Ketogenic Diet in the not-so-distant past (and slowly coming back) and that was the time I experienced first-hand how sinfully good and beneficial artery-clogging food really is. Trust me, I checked my blood pressure everyday and it was systolic: 120 over diastolic: 70 and was told it was perfectly low for eating out. I lost 15 lbs in a month.

Now, I'm not urging everyone to go on a deep fried food binge but really, if you crave for it, I am living proof that it's totally fine. Just leave the sweets and the carbs out.

So here I am. It's a Monday that everybody despises but not me. I do despise the fact that it is the first Monday I'm not going to work at the restaurant anymore. . since I have completed my on-the-job training last Saturday. I woke up at 7am despite sleeping at around 3am. My body got used to it and I greatly miss work and everybody. So in the spirit of me firing up dishes at the saute station, I fired up a dish at home. Ransacked the fridge and voila!


CHICKEN KATSUDON 

Ingredients for Chicken Tonkatsu:


4 pcs Chicken Breasts, sliced into flat fillets (I love it bone in)
1 clove Garlic, minced
4 pcs Kalamansi or Lemon, juiced
1 large Egg, beaten
2 cups Panko 
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 cups Vegetable Oil

Ingredients for Condiment:

1 clove Garlic, pounded
3 pcs Shallots (baby red onions), julienned
1 small thumb sized Ginger, sliced
4 Eggs, whole
1 cup water
3 tbsp Slurry (cornstarch dissolved in water)
1 tbsp Vinegar
3 tbsp Soy Sauce (Kikkoman is great for this)
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Cooking Oil

How to do it!

Marinate the chicken breasts in minced garlic, kalamansi juice, salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Prepare the beaten egg and panko in separate bowls.

Gently dip the chicken breasts in beaten egg then slowly and evenly coat it with panko. When the oil is hot enough, deep fat fry your coated chicken. Brown both sides.

Drain out excess oil with paper towels or tissue paper. Set the Chicken Tonkatsu aside.

Now, to make the condiment topping. Saute garlic, shallots and ginger in oil. Drop a pinch of salt to release its aroma. Add in vinegar and mix until it is reduced semi-dry. Add in water, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil.

In very low heat, add in slurry just enough to thicken the consistency a little bit then slowly drop whole eggs (so as not to break the yolk) in the middle of the pan like this:

You may constantly drizzle some of the sauce to help cook the yolk part of the eggs. Turn off the heat when the eggs are done.

The original Katsudon bowl has got rice and I know y'all would kill for rice so I took the pain in making a rice bowl for the sake of your needs and Japanese tradition. I have been avoiding rice for quite some time now  . . so what I did here was pretty excruciating and tested my discipline pretty much. Ha ha!

Y'all can do this dish! Hai!

Determined not to eat that rice,
♥ Chef Shak


P.S. I did not eat that rice. ^_^ Yay!