Will the tonkatsu inspire me?

I haven't gotten my groove back from my last trip back to Japan yet. I've been tired, busy, sick, and generally low in energy, and my desire to blog has been minimal. Just to give you an idea of how exhausted I feel, I haven't even had much of an appetite! Now, that's serious...

I'm trying to get myself more energized, but I am going to easy into blogging with this short tonkatsu post.


Amazingly, this perfectly crispy yet moist golden-brown deep fried pork filet, otherwise known as tonkatsu (ton = pork, katsu = cutlet), was something I had at the Narita airport before all hell broke loose. I really liked the fact that it was resting on a cooling rack to prevent the bottom side from getting soggy - now, that's considerate service, fitting of a Japanese establishment!

The tonkatsu itself was quite thick yet crispy on the outside. One of the most common methods used in Japanese tonkatsu restaurants to achieve crispy perfection is to fry it once in really hot oil for the crunchy exterior, followed by a longer frying period in lower temperature oil to cook the inside some more. Most likely, this double-temperature frying method was at work here too.

Along with all-you-can-eat cabbage and rice, this plate of delicious pork reminded me of how the Japanese have really Japanified non-native foods to a whole new level of Japanese-ness...

Let's see if I can muster up enough energy to put together my post about my fugu dinner and more from Japan tomorrow...