Will Fried Beef Cutlet Replace Pork Cutlet?

One popular dish in Japan among any age is Tonkatsu, or pork that's been breaded and fried. It is usually served with shredded cabbage and a worchestershire based sauce (the flavour of sauce sometimes depends on the city). The meat is usually tenderized before frying and is marbled or has a portion of fat attached to it so that when bitten into, it is soft and juicy.

Somebody had the idea of preparing beef in the same way, breaded with panko and fried, and the idea has been spreading. Last year, many beef cutlet, or gyukatsu specialty restaurants popped up around here. Recently, I was shopping at a mall just opened this fall in Nagoya (LaLaport), and found one of these specialty stores in the food court so I decided to give it a try.

Beef Cutlet from Kyoto Katsugyu

I think because the mall is still rather new and people are still going to check it out, the food court was pretty busy. I did have to spend time looking for a seat and lining up for my gyukatsu, but I eventually got to sit down and eat. The dish comes with three dipping condiments, a worcestershire sauce based one, a salt and sansho (japanese pepper) mix and a dashi based sauce. I personally found that dipping the meat in the dashi sauce and topping it with a bit of wasabi was the best. It was the lightest flavouring of the three but it didn't overpower the flavour of the fat in the beef. I liked that the rice had barley mixed in giving it a slighty chewier texture. The fourth way to eat the cutlet was by putting it on rice and pouring the little bowl of curry over it. For people that like curry this might be a good way to end the meal, but I wanted to eat my gyukatsu in its simplicity. This set, the regular size ro-su (rib cut) beef was about 1500 yen. Not bad for the price I'd say, but I think I'd prefer either a more course or thicker breading, or a thicker slab of meat so that it stays juicy. Also, gyukatsu doesn't feel like a meal to be enjoyed in a loud and bustling food court.

Because beef is more expensive and isn't as easy to make it as juicy as pork cutlet, I don't think it will replace tonkatsu, but it is definitely something to enjoy as a treat once in a while.

Restaurant: Kyoto Katsu-Gyu 京都勝牛
Area:  Lalaport Mall ららぽーと(Minato-ku area 港区)
Website: http://kyoto-katsugyu.com/
Hours: 10am-9pm (last order 8:45pm)