STRETCH: East-meets-west with economical pork cutlets

Breaded pork, with something tart on the side, makes a great dish for chilly days.

Breaded pork cutlets — for German schnitzel or a Japanese Katsudon bowl — .make economical meals.

By CINDA CHAVICH

Always on the lookout for a bargain, this week I picked up six lean boneless pork loin chops, for just over 10 bucks.

Raised by farmers here in BC, that’s three meals for us so pretty good in the protein department, and very economical when served with the local cabbage, beets, potatoes and eggs that are always in season here.

TURNING CHOPS TO CRISPY CUTLETS

The even oval-shaped chops were trimmed of fat and a nice enough thickness to grill, but I needed to get out some of the frustration of these high-anxiety political times, so I got out my hefty little meat mallet and pounded them into submission, turning thick chops into thin cutlets ready to bread.

With a layer of parchment above and below, I pounded the chops with the flat side of the meat mallet until they were twice the size and just about 1/8 inch thick, perfect to fry up for the schnitzel I planned for dinner.

Classic breaded pork cutlets - aka schnitzel - with sauteed cabbage, cauliflower/potato mash and pickled cucumber salad.

I seasoned each one with salt and pepper, and dipped both sides in flour, shaking off the excess. Then it was time to run each cutlet through a bowl of beaten egg and crust with dry panko bread crumbs until well coated.

Cutlets are pounded, breaded and shallow fried

In a heavy carbon steel pan, heated on medium heat, I shallow fried the schnitzels in a little olive and canola oil, two at a time, until they were nicely browned on both sides, pressing them with a cast iron grill/bacon press to keep the meat flat in the pan. The schnitzel went into a warm oven while I finished coating and frying all six pieces of pork.

We ate the first two breaded cutlets for dinner — with classic Euro accompaniments like boiled baby potatoes with dill, roasted golden beets and lightly pickled cucumbers with shallots and vinegar — and the rest went into the refrigerator for the next day’s dinner.

LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS

Leftover breaded cutlets are good in in various dishes. You might reheat the schnitzels in the oven with a bit of tomato sauce and shredded cheese on top (Italian style) or pile them into sandwiches with mayo, mustard and greens.

But my favourite solution to Schnitzel 2.0 is that comforting Japanese rice bowl — Katsu Don. The breaded pork is sliced into strips and reheated in a slurry of fried onions and soy sauce, with beaten eggs drizzled around to cook in the same pan.

Then the pork is lifted from the pan, with some of the jammy onions and egg, and served atop a bowl of chewy shortgrain rice and slivered green onions.

Here’s how to make my pork schnitzel, and the day after Katsu Don dinner!

Katsu Don is the ultimate bowl food — breaded pork cutlet with egg and jammy soy-scented onions on rice.

RECIPES:

PORK SCHNITZEL

Crispy breaded meat, is classic comfort food, with something tart and pickled on the side (think sauteed cabbage or kraut, pickled cucumbers and beets, kimchi). Usually pork — but sometimes chicken or even beef minute steaks — Schnitzel, Tonkatsu, Chicken Fried Steak, Italian Veal Milanese, are all great dishes for chilly days.

Have your favourite cutlet with mash, in a sandwich with slaw, or sliced over a bowl of noodles or ramen, for an easy and inexpensive meal.

4 - 6 pork loin chops, boneless, fat removed (about 1 kg)

Salt and black pepper

½ cup flour, seasoned with paprika

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Mixture of canola and olive oil for frying

Place a pork chop on a piece of parchment paper, fold the paper over the chop and pound with a flat meat mallet until it’s a large cutlet, about 1/8 inch thick. Repeat with remaining chops.

Season the cutlets on each side with salt and pepper.

Place the flour and paprika in a shallow bowl. Place the beaten egg in a shallow bowl. Place the panko crumbs in a third shallow bowl.

Heat a large, heavy saute pan over medium high heat. Drizzle in enough canola and olive oil to cover the pan.

Using tongs, pick up a pork cutlet and drag it through the seasoned flour, covering both sides and shaking off any excess flour. Coat the cutlet in the egg, allowing excess to drip off, then place in the crumbs, coating both sides well.

Repeat with all of the cutlets.

Drop a few pieces of panko into the hot oil, and if it sizzles, it’s ready to cook the cutlets.

Place the cutlet (schnitzel) into the hot oil. Cook schnitzels, one or two at a time (don’t crowd the pan) until they are nicely browned on both sides. If you have a cast into bacon/grill press you can use it to make sure the cutlets stay flat as they brown.

Place into a warm oven while you cook the remaining schnitzels.

Serve schnitzel with cauliflower/potato mash, pickled beets or cucumbers, and sauteed cabbage. Serves 4-6.

Cool any leftover schnitzels, wrap in foil and refrigerate.

HOMESTYLE KATSU DON

This is classic Japanese comfort food — panko-breaded pork cutlet with egg served over chewy short grain brown rice. It’s the perfect dish to enjoy when you have leftover breaded pork cutlets.

Breaded pork is cooked atop simmering onions — the best way to use leftover schnitzel.

2 leftover breaded pork cutlets, aka tonkatsu or schnitzel (see recipe above)

1/2 cup chicken stock (or dashi broth)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoon mirin

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

2 large eggs, beaten

1 large onion, red or white, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon oil

2 servings cooked brown Japanese rice (short grain)

2 green onions, slivered

Optional garnish:

chopped nori or furikake seasoning

Sesame seeds

Everyday ingredients combined for a Japanese classic

To make katsu don, use two pork cutlets (pounded, breaded and cooked in advance) Cut each diagonally into ½ inch slices, keeping the cutlet together. Set aside.

Make 2-3 cups cooked brown Japanese rice. Soak 1 cup rice in 2 3/4 cups salted water for 30 minutes, then bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, and let stand to steam 15 minutes longer before serving.

Combine chicken broth (or dashi broth) with soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and Worcestershire.

Heat oil in a large saute pan and saute the onions for 10 minutes over medium heat to soften, adding a splash of water so that they will not catch and burn.

Add the broth/soy mixture to the onions in the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the onions are very soft. Pick up the sliced cutlets, keeping each in one piece, and set on top of the simmering onions in the pan. Pour the beaten egg around the outside of the cutlets.

Pour the beaten egg around the pork in the saute pan and simmer until set.

Keep the mixture simmering until the egg is just set, covering the pan if necessary.

To serve, divide the hot rice between two deep individual bowls. Lift a cutlet, with half of the onions, egg and sauce from the pan, and arrange on top of the rice in one bowl. Repeat with the second cutlet and remaining onions, egg and sauce. Garnish each serving with chopped green onions and optional nori or furikake.

Makes 2 generous servings.

©CindaChavich2026