Tasty Homemade Pork Katsu Burger

When it comes to eating burger, I can be quite picky as I am more a fan of rice and noodle. How this pork katsu burger became one of my favorites is quite interesting. The other day, I had some leftover pork katsu in the fridge. It was not time for our dinner, so I have not cooked rice yet. My husband came home early and hungry. He saw a hamburger bun in the kitchen counter, paired it up with the pork katsu, added some mayo, ketchup and so forth, then he instantly loved it and so did I. From that point on, I mixed and matched some ingredients and found that adding caramelized onion to is bring it up a notch.

This homemade pork katsu burger will open up your palate to a new level. The pork katsu is crispy yet juicy, paired with a tad sweet of caramelized onion and inserted into fluffy buns – perfection. I think you do not even need to a lot of ketchup, mayo or other burger sauces to it – just a little bit is enough. However, if you like the regular pork katsu on your rice bowl, you can check out my pork katsudon recipe.

Tools I used:

• Stove-top grill – Non-stick stove-top grill for any kind of quick grilling, especially useful in wintertime as I do not feel like grilling outside in the cold. Evenly heated, easy cleaning, easy to flip/stir and very durable.

Tip: If you’d like a nice crisp bun for your pork katsu burger, spread some butter to the bun and grill it for about 1 minute on each side. The burger is best to consume when it is still hot. Don’t assemble the burger until you are ready to eat it to prevent the bun from getting soggy.

Ingredient:

Pork Katsu

• 1 lb pork tenderloin – cut into 1 inch thick (will make about 3-4 cuts)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika powder
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil to brush

Caramelized Onion

• 2 medium onion – diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• A pinch of salt

Toppings/Condiments

• Burger buns
• Lettuce
• Ketchup
• Mayonnaise
• Fries
• Optional: other veggies (cabbages, tomato, sliced onion, etc.)

Direction:

Pork Katsu

• In a mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, rice flour and paprika. Mix well.
• Rub salt and pepper to each side of pork cutlets. Then, dredge the seasoned pork cutlets into the mixed flour.
• In another bowl, beat egg. Then, add mayonnaise. Mix it well together.
• Then, dip the dredged pork cutlets into the egg-mayo mixture and coat them well.
• Next, coat the pork cutlets onto the breadcrumbs. Make sure that all surface of the cutlets is covered well.
• Line aluminum foil over your baking sheet. Brush olive oil over the foil.
• Place each cutlet on the foil and drizzle some olive oil on top of each cutlets. This is to ensure that the pork cutlets will be crispy and will not stick to the foil.
• Bake the pork cutlets under 350F for 45 minutes or the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145F.
• Once the time is up, let the pork katsu rest for about 3 minutes. (At this point, after cooling down, you can refrigerate the baked pork katsu in the freezer and reheat/re-bake for 8-10 minutes under 350F)

Caramelized Onion

• While waiting for the pork katsu to be cooked, let’s make the caramelized onion!
• In a small bowl, mix olive oil and melted butter
• Heat up the mixed oil/butter in a sauté pan under medium-high heat.
• Once heated, add diced onion into the pan and spread evenly across the pan. Stir occasionally and let it cook under the medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes or until the onion is a bit translucent.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low heat, spread the onion across the pan to let it cook evenly, sprinkle some salt, and stir occasionally to prevent it from burning. Don’t stir too often, just enough to prevent it from burning. Otherwise, it’ll take much longer for the onion to brown.
• Cook for about 20-30 minutes so that the onion can caramelize and release its sweetness. Cook until the onion is brown.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to three days.

Assembling the Burger

• Spread the cut-side of your bun with mayonnaise and ketchup.
• Put lettuce on top of the bottom part of the bun, then pork katsu, followed by the caramelized onion and top it off with the other side of the bun.
• Of course, you can customize with adding your other favorite topping such as sliced tomato, cheese, shredded cabbage and so on.
• Serve with fries or other side dishes and enjoy!