Fried Pork Cutlets with Japanese Curry

Sometimes I credit my ability to resist dining out on non-travel weeks to the fact that I am not a bad cook (hey! where's your modesty?  gone with a good meal~)  I had to return something at the mall after work today and I was hungry!  I was so tempted to eat at one of the restaurants but I know I have ingredients at home to cook with... I am glad I did!  It looks daunting but everything is actually done within an hour (cook, eat, and all)  I ate it with rice but if you don't like rice, I think it goes well with french bread too!

Ingredients:

Fried Pork:

1 thin sliced pork chop (you can go thick but it just takes longer to cook... and it's more calories)

flour / egg wash / panko bread crumbs

Curry:

3 small carrots

1 medium potato

3 small onions

1 packet of Japanese curry from an Asian grocery store (any kind) - the beauty of these curry blocks is that they are never too spicy and it's easy to use - great for beginners

Direction:

1. Sliced onions, do thick cut since they might melt otherwise.  Slice carrots and dice potatoes.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium sauce pan, brown onions then add the veggies.

3. Add water (or stock if you prefer), enough to just cover the veggies.  Cover and cook over medium heat for ~10 minutes or until veggies are cooked.

4. Break up the curry block (I usually use 1/2 a package / 1 big square / 4 small blocks) and throw in #3.  Reduce heat to low.  Stir.  (The package usually have detail instruction too).

5. If you just want curry, it is ready but I feel like eating some fried pork tonight...

6. So while you were waiting for the curry to cook, you can pound and season your cutlet with salt and pepper (I also added a tiny bit of olive oil).

7. When the curry is just about done, heat oil in a your favorite frying pan, coat the cutlet in flour, eggwash, and panko (in that order).  Fry until golden brown.  (It is actually a myth that you need a lot of oil to fry food... actually if you use a small pan, you don't need that much oil...)

8.  Cut the cutlet into manageable size, pour the curry over (overlap as much as you want or serve separate).  Ready to serve!