I have a 4 lb pork loin with very little fat on it. I also bought a nice fat cap at the market to use if needed to help with the flavor. I have already portioned out 2 lbs of tonkatsu for tonight's dinner. I need help with ideas for the remaining uncooked 4 lbs. For banchan I prepared Garlic Sesame Snow Peas, Gochu Doenjang Muchim, Oi Muchim, and Sukjunamul Muchim. For ssam is there a traditional way to season the pork before roasting? I have made this before https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12197-momofukus-bo-ssam and it wasn't bad. I think that I'd like to try something different. It also was incredibly sweet. I don't mind a little sweetness with my savory, but would hope to find a better way to make it. Also, if you have any good recipes for carrot sides feel free to add this also.
by Jacey01
3 Comments
Do you want to keep the pork loin as a big piece, would you do chops or grind it? Or just a stir-fry cut, sliced/strips? Since it’s lower in fat/marbling, I would definitely tenderize it with a marinade if you’re not gonna save it to use for future katsu. If you grind it, you can add some fat in. For stir fry marinate/velvet with rice wine, soy, salt, sugar, cornstarch, stock or water, whatever, and then stir fry with green onions or garlic, other aromatics… Your banchan setup sounds great! I usually do carrots only for 1. stew/soup/braised dishes, 2. roasted in the oven (with other veggies, seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, roasted garlic powder, whatever else), or 3. julienned or thin sliced in stir fry. You could cook them (boil/microwave-steam) and then toss with stuff to do a fresh kimchi or something similar. Or braise like gamja jorim and see how it comes out?
I don’t have experience with making bossam, but I’d want a fattier cut (butt is my go-to, belly is a splurge). You could just pressure cook it to get it tender, just with salt, maybe some flavorful stock, throw in onion, garlic, bay? and serve with ssam wrap stuff?
Make more tonkatsu and freeze them. They reheat very nicely in an air fryer. It’s also versatile. Katsu sando, katsu kimchi nabe, katsudon, katsu parmesan even
Make some extra portions of tonkatsu, put them in a container and refrigerate them. Then later for lunch or dinner make katsudon. It won’t matter that the katsu isn’t crispy anymore because you’re simmering it in sauce anyway.