Tonkatsu

Hungry in Tokyo but don’t speak Japanese?  Don’t worry, there are plenty of visual aids to help guide you in choosing an entree.  Walk down the street and in the front window of nearly every restaurant you will see entire meals made of plastic.

There’s even an area in Tokyo selling kitchenware, Kappabashi, where you can find entire stores devoted to plastic food. I was looking forward to buying some until I saw the price tags.  You think real food in Tokyo is expensive?  (It is.)  But get this: ¥65,000 (nearly $60) for a plate of plastic spaghetti.  An entire sushi platter: $200.  The window display above probably represents several thousands dollars worth of fake food. 

Why do you want to buy plastic food, my husband wondered.  What would you do with it? 

Hmmm, good point. 

Well, I could set some out on the kitchen counter, avoiding the inevitable “what’s for dinner, Mom?” question that arises every day around 4 or 5 in the afternoon.   

What’s for dinner tonight?  Tonkatsu.

What is tonkatsu, you ask?  Breaded pork cutlet.  Similar to Wienerschnitzel (which is made with veal) or chicken-fried steak in the Southern U.S. (made with beef), tonkatsu is pork dredged in flour, dipped in egg, coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

Some of the best tonkatsu in Tokyo is served at a restaurant called Maisen, located in a former bathhouse in Omotesando.

We arrived and were led in along the front counter, past the kitchen and into the spacious, high-ceilinged main dining room.

Although the restaurant does serve other dishes, everyone comes for the tonkatsu.  The menu is bewildering, with page after page of seemingly identical choices.  Since I have been hearing a lot about black pork lately, I decided to try the kurobuta fillet.
 

Kurobuta, or black pork, is a highly prized meat in Japan that comes from an ancient breed of English pig called the Black Berkshire.  Well, it had better be good, because at ¥3100 ($29), it cost at least $10 more than the regular tonkatsu. 

While I was waiting for my food to arrive, I headed back toward the front entrance where I spotted a window full of plastic food.

Here’s a test.  Can you spot the real tonkatsu?

Is it A?                                                   Or B?  (see answer at the bottom)

As for the black pork, it was worth every cent.  This was undoubtedly the best tonkatsu I have ever eaten.  Period.  Beyond compare, the kurobuta was the juiciest, most tender piece of meat imaginable.  The panko crust was light, flaky and completely greaseless.

Tonkatsu is served with shredded cabbage and a sweet sauce similar to steak sauce, made with ketchup, soy sauce and Worcestershire.

I loved the metal grill they served the tonkatsu on--it elevates the hot meat off the plate and helps keep the bottom crust from getting too soggy.  My mother-in-law liked them so much we went back to the kitchenware stores in Kappabashi afterward and bought a dozen of them to take home with us. 

As for the plastic food, I decided to pass, despite its informative and kitschy entertainment value. Give me the real thing. (Answer: B).

Comments

[Kady]

Angie, I am so jealous of you right now! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful trip that you are taking (and such great pics)! I'll have to live vicariously through you. Enjoy Japan!

[Kirk]

Hi Angie - mmmmm, good Tonkatsu, is heavenly, and really harder to get then one might think. Most of what passes for Tonkatsu here in the states is a really tough pork cutlet. Berkshire Pork is good stuff - it's the same as the pork that Buga uses! Acutally, I was gonig to start, mmmmm, plastic food! Happy Holidays.

[Angie]

Kady:

Thanks. I wish I could teleport everyone to Japan and share a meal with all of you. It's an amazing place for people who love food and trying new things.

Kirk:

LOL--not too appetizing, I know. But very useful at times. We went to an udon noodle restaurant with no English menu, so we ended up outside by the front window placing our orders by pointing at the models. Thankfully, the food that arrived at our table looked much better than its plastic counterpart.

As for the tonkatsu, I couldn't believe how good it was. The only trouble with eating such great food is that it sets such a high standard. Now I'm reluctant to eat Japanese food here (at least until the memory of this trip fades and the cravings begin again).

Have a great weekend!

[Jeff]

Angie,

So the plastic tonkatsu is photographed on the corect metal grill, and the real one isn't...? It's a trick!

Glad you're having a wonderful time there. Merry Christmas!

[rachel]

so jealous!

[Angie]

Hi, Rachel. Thanks for stopping by. Have you ever made tonkatsu at home?

I haven't yet, but my mother-in-law makes a version (with regular pork) which I would put up against Maisen's any day. She told me the key is using panko breadcrumbs and making sure the pork is well chilled--she soaks the meat in milk and lime juice--before cooking.