Among all the Nagoya Food we tried, there’s one food that Mr. JOC and I didn’t particularly enjoy as much when we tried it there. Yet we grew to appreciate and enjoy it after trying it again after the trip, and that food was Miso Katsu (味噌カツ).
What is Miso Katsu?
If you thought the tangy and sweet tonkatsu sauce was the only sauce to enjoy Tonkatsu with, then today’s recipe might be a new discovery for you. In Nagoya, people enjoy eating Tonkatsu with a miso-base sauce which is made of a dark red miso paste called Hatcho Miso (八丁味噌). This miso is not your ordinary red, white or awase miso (mix of red and white). For someone like myself who grew up eating Tonkatsu only with tonkatsu sauce, it was definitely a unique experience and the miso sauce is definitely an acquired taste. It took me a while to build up my tastebuds to appreciate this new flavor. And guess what, now Mr. JOC and I both love Miso Katsu now and we’re quite excited to introduce this dish to you!
Hatcho Miso 八丁味噌
Hatcho Miso is traditionally made of 100% soybeans (no grains, like rice and wheat, are added), and it is a darker, more reddish-brown than miso made with rice (kome miso 米味噌). How’s the taste? It’s not as sweet as other kinds of miso and it has really intense, bold, and rich flavor with good umami. The miso was first created in a village about 870 meters (Hatcho 八丁) west of Okazaki Castle in Aichi prefecture. The miso was named after the “Hatcho Village”. Hatcho Miso is mostly consumed in Aichi prefecture (where Nagoya is), part of Gifu prefecture, and part of Mie prefecture. You can purchase the miso throughout Japan, but it is rarely used in daily meals.
How To Make Miso Sauce for Miso Katsu
Since I already have a delicious Tonkatsu recipe, all I needed was a good miso sauce. The miso sauce is actually quite simple to make. Hatcho miso is usually diluted with dashi and sweetened with sugar and mirin. Because you sweeten the miso, it is not salty anymore and has a rich and bold taste to it. When we were in Nagoya, we visited one of the most popular Miso Katsu restaurants called Yabaton (矢場とん). You can read about our experience here, but guess what I got there. Not only did we eat their Miso Katsu at the restaurant, but I also purchased their miso sauce and brought it back to the U.S. Yes! Time to experiment and create Just One Cookbook Miso Katsu (dramatic music plays)! Thanks to the sauce I had purchased, I could compare my own sauce against Yabaton’s sauce side by side. I tried making the sauce with Hatcho Miso as well as other red miso, but I think Hatcho Miso is absolutely necessary to re-create Yabaton’s sauce. Mr. JOC said the sauce I made was even better than Yabaton’s sauce, but I think he’s just being nice. 😉 After several experiments and trials, lots of fried pork chops, our family started to enjoy Miso Katsu.
The Best Tonkatsu for Miso Katsu
For those of you who absolutely don’t want to deep fry your Tonkatsu, follow my Baked Tonkatsu recipe (with video). It’s easy, delicious, and pretty close to deep-fried Tonkatsu. But I will say nothing beats deep-fried crispy hot Tonkatsu! Here are 3 key points to make the best Tonkatsu… Make a couple of slits: Make a few slits on the connective tissue between the meat and fat. The reason why you do this is that red meat and fat have different elasticities, and when they are cooked they will shrink and expand at different rates. This will allow the meat to stay nice and flat when deep frying and prevent it from curling up. Pound the meat: Using a meat tenderizer or the back of the knife, pound both sides of the meat to soften it. Double fry: After the deep frying the first time, take out the meat and let the hot oil on the exterior slowly cook the meat as it sits without overcooking in the hot oil. Then deep fry again for the final crisp texture.
How Else Can You Eat Miso Katsu?
Miso Katsu Sandwich (味噌カツサンド) – Put the pork and shredded cabbage in the sandwich bread. Miso Katsu Donburi (味噌カツ丼) – Put shredded cabbage over rice and drizzle some miso sauce. Then place the Tonkatsu on top and pour plenty of miso sauce. A perfect one-bowl dish!
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