Kushikatsu

Kushikatsu is deep fried meat, seafood or vegetable on a stick. "Kushi" is Japanese for stick, and katsu means cutlet. There are many kushikatsu restaurants in Japan. Osaka is famous for kushikatsu. Stand up kushikatsu bars abound for people to patronize after work with friends and cold beers.

Yield: 6 servings
Time: 1 hour

 Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
  
• 1/2 lb pork
  
• 10 asparagus
• 2 Japanese sweet potatoes
• 4 green onion
• 2 small eggplants
• block of cheese
• 5 cups of Panko
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 beaten eggs
• 50 bamboo skewers (kushi)
  

Spices 

• vegetable oil
• tonkatsu sauce
• dash salt and pepper
  

Preparation

1. Cut the meat and vegetables into a reasonable size for skewering with the bamboo sticks
2. Boil or microwave sweet potatoes until they are soft
3. Stick vegetables and cheese on sticks (separately)
4. Stick pork with green onion on the sticks and hit with salt and pepper
5. Sprinkle flour on both sides of the skewered food then dredge in egg. Cover with Panko.
6. Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry ingredients until golden brown (about 2 minutes on each side)
7. Transfer to a plate or platter covered with paper towels to soak up the oil
8. Serve with a small bowl or ramekin of tonkatsu sauce for dipping

Modifications

1. It is easier to deep fry in a large wok but you can also use a frying pan, it just takes longer to cook.

Me in an Osaka kushikatsu restaurant