Low-FODMAP Tonkatsu Curry

Why I Love Tonkatsu Curry

Japanese curry is a comfort food for me. It tastes totally unlike other curries, such as Indian, Thai, etc (and even within those cuisines, flavors vary wildly tbh), and is totally special in its own way.

My favorite pairing with Japanese curry has to be tonkatsu, or breaded pork cutlet. The golden breading is made all the more crispy because of big flaky panko. You can also bet that the pork chop is invariably juicy after being deep-fried in its breading-love-pocket.

Tonkatsu curry is served with plain, beautiful rice, and the three components together are not only a beautiful canvas of flavors, but of textures too: the soupy, saucy curry, the crunchy breaded pork, and the fluffy, innumerous grains of rice serve as a blank canvas absorbing all the delicious flavors…

Ahem. As you can see, I am a great lover of tonkatsu curry. These flavors and textures are tied to many happy memories throughout my life and childhood; the first experience being when my mom would take my little brother and I to Curry House in Little Tokyo in LA as a treat. Even when I eat it now, I always think of it as a treat!

Making This Into a Low-FODMAP Curry Recipe

With all that said, Japanese curry seems like an impossibility when you need to eat low-FODMAP. Onions are a central part of most Japanese curry recipes and are definitely present in every brand of curry roux blocks that I’ve seen, so I thought this was a dish I would never have again. However, with some research and some trigger-ingredient omissions, I’m pleased to present you with this low-FODMAP curry recipe.

We’ll make the Japanese curry roux from scratch and add in great no-FODMAP vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and oyster mushrooms.

Crispy Baked Pork Tonkatsu with Gluten-Free ‘Breading’

I learned this method of making really crispy baked tonkatsu from Just One Cookbook (check her out – amazing Japanese recipes!). Without her method, baked breaded pork chops are really sad. Like really really sad, and not brown at all. She recommends pre-cooking the panko to give it a crispy golden brown texture. This allows you to cut down on the fat (also a gut irritant!). My version also uses gluten-free rice crumbs. Enjoy!

No Reviews

Ingredients

Adjust Servings
4 carrots
2 potatoes (recommend yellow/gold potatoes)
1teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 bay leaf
4cups chicken broth
cups rice crumbs (such as Trader Joe's Rice Crumbs or other gluten-free bread crumb)
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 pork chops
cups cornstarch (approximately, for dredging)
3 eggs, beaten
3 tomatoes
½pound oyster mushrooms
Low-FODMAP Curry Roux
6tablespoons butter
8tablespoons gluten-free flour (such as Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour)
2tablespoons curry powder (a Japanese brand like S&B is best)
2tablespoons garam masala
½teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1.

Make rice!

I didn't include rice in this recipe, but here's your reminder to make yourself some rice! Use your usual rice cooker instructions :)
Mark as complete
2.

Preheat oven to 400°

Mark as complete
3.

Prep carrots, potatoes, oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, and ginger

Peel and cut carrots and potatoes into bite-size chunks. Wash oyster mushrooms and squeeze out excess water. Cut tomatoes into wedges. Grate ginger.
Mark as complete
4.

Boil grated ginger, chopped potatoes, and carrots with chicken broth and bay leaf

In a stock pot, boil chicken broth and a bay leaf, on high heat.
Once boiling, add grated ginger, potatoes, and carrots. Season with salt and lower to medium heat to simmer while you make other ingredients.
Mark as complete
5.

Pre-toast rice crumbs with olive oil

Get a frying pan going on medium heat and pour in 1½ cups rice crumbs. Drizzle in 3 tb olive oil and slowly brown the rice crumbs, tossing them every once and a while. This can be somewhat tricky with rice crumbs - you'll need to balance heat and patience so it doesn't burn.
When rice crumbs are golden brown, remove from heat.
Mark as complete
6.

Prepare and season pork chops

Using a sharp knife, cut the connective tissue at the edge of the chop. You pretty much just need to slit it a bit, to prevent the pork chops from curling. Pound pork chops with a meat mallet.
Season 6 pork chops with salt and pepper.
Mark as complete
7.

Dredge pork chops

Set up a dredging assembly line with a plate/wide bowl of corn starch, another with 3 eggs beaten, and another with toasted crumbs.
Dip pork through the assembly line in that order - corn starch, eggs, crumbs - making sure to get them well coated.
Mark as complete
8.

Bake pork for 20 minutes

Put pork chops on a wire rack over a baking sheet and pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
Mark as complete
9.

Make curry roux

Melt 6 tb of butter in a small sauce pot over medium heat.
Once melted, add 8 tb of gluten-free flour, 2 tb of curry powder, 2 tb garam masala, and ½ tsp cayenne pepper.
Mark as complete
10.

Add roux to the broth and vegetables

Start with a ladle or two of broth and pour it into the sauce pot with roux. Allow the liquid to incorporate and thicken, before doing another 2-3 ladles of liquid.
After this round, pour the dissolved roux into the big stock pot with the remaining broth and vegetables.
Mark as complete
11.

Add oyster mushrooms and tomato, then simmer 10 minutes

Mark as complete
12.

Serve curry and tonkatsu with rice for the best experience!

For optional garnish, you can sprinkle furikake on the rice or shichimi tōgarashi for extra spice.
Mark as complete

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *