Last night I made the Katsudon recipe from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. This is a rice bowl dish that makes use of leftover katsu.

Other than the leftover katsu, the ingredients are straightforward and familiar.

Making it is similar to the previous Japanese rice bowl recipes: simmer onion in dashi, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. Add the protein, and then add some eggs. For this dish, the leftover katsu is only simmered to warm up and then beaten eggs are added, the wok is covered, and everything simmers for a couple of minutes until the eggs set.

After everything is warmed through and the eggs are set, Kenji directs to “Slide the broth, egg, and chicken out on top of each bowl of rice.” I doubled the recipe which meant less sliding and more scooping, so my finished version was not nearly as aesthetic as Kenji’s picture.

I thought it tasted good. My wife thought it was mediocre, which has been consistent with these Japanese rice bowl dishes. My son ate some of the chicken and said it was good. I’d give it 4 stars, but I think my wife would only give it 3. We both agreed that it was very filling. The real question is: given the choice between plain leftover katsu and katsudon, which would she prefer?

Maybe I’ll make this again for myself with leftover katsu, but probably not for a family dinner.

I am cooking my way through J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. Read more about it.