Tonkatsu (Japanese Pork Cutlet)

Method

1. To Prepare Shredded Cabbage (Optional). You can always cut the cabbage super thinly with a sharp knife, but I love this cabbage slicer and it saves time and energy! I also thinly slice the cucumber diagonally, then cut them into thin strips. Toss the cabbage and cucumber together and set aside.
2. To Make Sesame Tonkatsu Dipping Sauce (Optional). Grind white and black toasted sesame seeds in Japanese pestle and mortar. Leave some unground for the texture.
3. In individual small plates/bowls, serve 1 Tbsp of the ground sesame seeds and add Tonkatsu sauce. Each person can mix together when they are ready to eat.
4. To Prepare Pork. With a sharp knife, remove the extra fat and make several slits on the connective tissue (white area) between the meat and fat. The reason why you do this is that red meat and fat have a different elasticity, and when they are cooked, they will shrink and expand at different rates. This will allow Tonkatsu to stay nice and flat when deep frying and prevent it from curling up.
5. Flip the meat and make several slits on the other side of the connective tissue.
6. Pound both sides of the meat with the back of a knife or a meat tenderizer/pounder.
7. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.
8. To Bread the Pork. Crack the egg in a deep dish and add oil. Whisk together until well combined. By adding oil, the meat and breading won’t detach from each other while deep frying and the juice and flavor from the meat will not escape easily. Prepare a deep dish for flour, too.
9. Dredge the pork in flour and dust off any excess flour. Excess flour will create a coating that prevents the egg mixture from latching onto the pork. Then dip the pork in the egg mixture and coat nicely.
10. Dredge the pork in panko and remove excess panko while pressing down the panko gently. While deep frying, panko will “pop up” so at this moment they don’t have to be fluffy. Set aside for 5-10 minutes so the meat and breading will be set.
11. To Deep Fry. Add oil to the pot and bring it to 340ºF (170ºC) over medium heat. If you don’t have a thermometer, stick a chopstick in the oil and see if tiny bubbles start to appear around the tip of the chopstick. Alternatively, you can drop one piece of panko into the oil, and if it sinks down to the middle of oil and immediately comes right up, then the oil is ready.
12. Gently put one pork into the oil and cook for 1 minute (without flipping). Don't touch the pork for 30 seconds. 
13. After a minute, flip the pork and cook the other side for 1 minute.
14. Take out the pork and remove excess oil by holding it vertically for a few seconds. Place on the wire rack or paper towel and let it sit for 4 minutes. The hot oil on the exterior is slowly cooking the meat as it sits.
15. While the first tonkatsu is resting on the wire rack, deep fry the second pork.
16. The first pork should be ready for the second frying. Bring the oil to 355ºF (180ºC) and fry the pork for 30 seconds on each side.
17. Continue with the second piece of the pork. Drain the oil on the wire rack/paper towel.
18. Make the Tonkatsu Sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Adjust the sauce according to your liking.
19. To Serve. Cut the tonkatsu into ¾ inch (2 cm) wide pieces.