Easily and quickly prepare a Japanese bento box with Ton Katsu (pork cutlet) as the main dish, an appetizer of miso soup and a California roll.
Ever want to make your own custom bento box at home? Learn how to impress your friends with a hearty Japanese meal that can be prepared in under an hour.
Ton Katsu curry is a fried Japanese pork cutlet covered in a rich spicy curry. All materials can be found at almost any Asian grocery store. Using curry and miso mix to embellish the meal will allow you to inject exotic flavors without having to slave over the stove.
Cook 3 cups of rice. Wash rice thoroughly before cooking.
After the rice is done cooking, pour 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, and a pinch of salt into a saucepan.
Heat at low to medium and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Immediately pour contents onto rice.
Mix vinegar mixture into the rice until evenly spread.
Peel cucumber and slice into 6 long strips. Be sure to remove the center section of seeds.
Slice avocado into similar strips.
Place imitation crab into mixing bowl and add mayonnaise to taste (about as much as you would use for a tuna sandwich). Mix well until the crab is broken up into thinner pieces.
Lay Saran wrap between sushi mat and sheet of seaweed.
Spread a thin layer of rice on top of the seaweed. Make sure the rice is pressed and compact before proceeding.
Flip the seaweed over so that the rice side is now on the saran wrap and place 1 slice of cucumber accompanied by an equal amount of avocado. Cover the cucumber and avocado with the imitation crab mix.
Be sure the contents of the California roll are all placed on the bottom edge of the seaweed (edge closest to you).
Begin tightly rolling the sushi by first rolling the contents over and firmly squeezing the mat on the outside to compress and seal the contents.
Peel back Saran wrap and repeat rolling step until your sushi becomes a single solid roll.
Place sushi roll on a cutting board and carefully slice into 6-8 individual pieces. Use your non-cutting hand to keep the roll taught.
Pour Panko flakes and flour onto individual plates.
Crack 2 eggs and mix them in a bowl.
Take pork chop and dip first in flour, then egg and finally Panko flakes. Be sure to cover both sides of the pork chop thoroughly with each ingredient.
Fry pork chop in enough oil to submerge half the cutlet.
Cook at medium-high heat. Be sure to flip cutlet regularly to get an even crisp.
Make packet of Golden Curry or any comparable brand of Japanese curry mix. Follow instructions on box. Add chopped carrots and potatoes for added flavor.
Make packet of miso soup mix. Add seaweed and tofu for extra flavor.
Serve curry on top of the pork cutlet.
