From-Scratch Katsu Sauce (Fruit-Simmered Tonkatsu Style)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The thick, tangy brown sauce that comes in a little dish beside a panko-crusted pork cutlet — built the long way, from actual fruit and vegetables instead of a squeeze bottle. Apple, onion, carrot and dates simmer with whole spices, soy and Worcestershire until sweet and jammy, then get blended and strained into a glossy, spoon-coating sauce with real depth. Makes about 1 1/2 cups and keeps for weeks.

Ingredients

• 1 sweet apple (Fuji or Gala), peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
• 4 pitted Medjool dates, torn (or 3 pitted prunes)
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tbsp neutral oil

• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp yellow mustard powder
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 2-inch piece cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 4 whole allspice berries (or 1/4 tsp ground allspice)
• 1/2 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste

• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar, for adjusting at the end
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional, for serving)

Instructions

1. Heat the neutral oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot with the 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the edges are just starting to brown. You want colour, not char — this is where the savoury backbone comes from.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it hard for 2 minutes, scraping constantly, until it darkens from bright red to brick and smells toasted rather than raw.
3. Add the chopped apple, dates, water, soy sauce, Worcestershire, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, brown sugar, mustard powder, black pepper, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and allspice. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Reduce to a bare simmer (small bubbles, lid slightly ajar) and cook 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the apple and carrot are completely soft enough to crush against the side of the pan with a spoon and the liquid has reduced by about a third.
5. Fish out and discard the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and allspice berries. Whole spices turn bitter and gritty if they go into the blender, so hunt them all down.
6. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes, then blend until absolutely smooth — 60 to 90 seconds in a standing blender on high, or 2 minutes with an immersion blender, stopping to scrape the sides. Vent the lid and cover with a towel if the mixture is still hot.
7. For restaurant-smooth texture, press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean saucepan, working it with a flexible spatula and discarding the fibrous solids left behind (about 2 tablespoons' worth).
8. Return the strained sauce to medium-low heat and simmer 3 to 6 minutes, stirring, until it thickly coats the back of a spoon and a spatula dragged through the pan leaves a trail that closes slowly. It should mound slightly on a spoon, like a loose ketchup — remember it will thicken a bit more once chilled.
9. Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil. Taste and adjust: another teaspoon of rice vinegar if it tastes flat or too sweet, a splash of soy if it needs salt, a pinch of brown sugar if the vinegar is sharp. Cool to room temperature.
10. Transfer to a jar and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving — the flavour rounds out noticeably once cold. Serve in small dishes with panko-fried pork or chicken katsu, sprinkled with sesame seeds if you like.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

Char-Grilled Oysters with Garlic-Worcestershire Butter

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem