Chicken Cheese Katsu (Ground Stuffed Meat Cake)

One of my favorite binge watching shows on Netflix is Midnight Diner (Shinya Shokudo) : Japanese Stories. Midnight Diner is a small 12-seat Izakaya called Meshiya in Shinjuku, Tokyo open from midnight to dawn, with its eccentric patrons. I love this show because it's entertaining and it shows the diner's master making custom made simple and delicious dishes with very few ingredients. If he has the ingredients to make your request he will make it. I stumbled upon this show searching for cooking shows and documentaries. I was really hoping to travel to Tokyo this year, but due to the current circumstances my travel was not possible. Hopefully things will change next year and I will be on my way to visit some of the many Shinya Shokudo located in Tokyo.

In this episode a breaded ham cutlet was requested by an elderly lawyer that brought back memories of playing the board game Othello with his long-lost younger brother. Instead of using ham for this recipe I decided to use chicken breast. While pounding out the chicken breast to make thin sheets I realized I pounded it out too much so I decided to mince it instead. I made 2 different versions.

I made the meat cake or burger version plated in a cabbage bowl with an asian ginger sauce.

The second version I made was a log/sushi version and sliced it into to bite size pieces with an side salad drizzled with the asian ginger sauce.

To make this dish you will need the following:

Ingredients:

Meat Cake/Patty:

· ¼ cup chopped green onion or 1 small finely chopped onion

· 1 tbsp oil

· 4 chicken breast minced (or l lb ground chicken)

· 1 egg

· ½ tsp salt

· 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

· 8 sticks or cubes of mozzarella or cheese of choice

Coating:

· 1 tbsp flour

· 1 egg beaten

· 1 cup panko bread crumbs

· Oil for deep frying

Garnish:

· Shredded cabbage or whole cabbage leaves

· Buns (Optional)

· Tomato (Optional)

Sauce(s):

Ketchup (Optional)

Asian Ginger Sauce:

· 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

· 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

· 2 tbsps finely grated ginger

· 2 tbsps chopped green onion

· 2 cloves garlic, minced

· 2 teaspoons honey

· 1 teaspoon sesame or salad oil

Instructions

Making Patties

1. This is optional, but you can sauté the onion until translucent and set aside. I’m a lover of onion so I skip this step

2. Add all the Patty ingredients including chopped green onion to a bowl and mix well until it becomes sticky. Divide the mince mix into 8 equal portions.

3. Oil your hands, take one portion at a time and make a patty. Place cube or stick of cheese in the center and mold the ground meat around the cheese until it’s completed encased. Add more ground chicken to make sure the cheese is covered.

4. Shape it into a lob or oval burger. Repeat steps make 4 to 8 portions.

Cooking

1. Arrange each of your ingredients on individual plates/bowls - patties, flour, beaten egg and panko. Place a new plate or parchment covered sheet pan next to the panko.

2. Divide the meat mixture into 4 or 8 equal pieces depending on your preferred shape and size. Just make sure each part is enough to mold over the cheese.

3. Take a patty and coat it with the flour, then dunk in the egg, followed by the bread crumbs. Place it on the new plate or sheet plan. Repeat for the rest of the patties.

4. Heat oil (about /1¼” deep) in a deep frying pan or a shallow pot over medium low heat. Add a couple of breadcrumbs into the oil and if the bubbles around the crumbs are small and slowly increasing, it is the right temperature. If the crumbs are surrounded by lots of bubbles and surface instantaneously, the oil is too hot.

5. Add patties to the oil gently in 2-3 batches. Fry for about 3-4 minutes until the bottom half of the cutlet is golden brown. Turn it over and fry further 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels or a cooling rack to absorb/remove excess oil.

6. Serve while hot with cabbage or your favorite garnishes.

Notes
- Do not overcrowd the oil with too many patties.
- Time taken to cook meat depends on the frying pan/pot, thickness of the patty etc. When the meat is cooked through, the katsu burger should float in the oil.

Thanks for visiting Verdia's Spot!