Cabbage Menchi Katsu (Breaded Ground Pork Patties)
キャベツのメンチカツ(卵乳なし) · Kyabetsu no Menchi Katsu
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Menchi katsu is a Japanese classic: a seasoned ground meat patty coated in panko and deep-fried until crisp and golden. In this version, a generous amount of finely chopped, salted cabbage goes into the mixture, keeping the patties juicy and adding a gentle sweetness that children love. Instead of egg and milk, we use soy milk to bind the mixture and a simple flour-and-water batter to hold the panko in place, giving you a crunchy cutlet made without egg or dairy.
Added. Open the recipe helper (bottom right) → ☰ Menu → 🛒 Shopping list to see the ingredients for your family size.
Printing uses the number of adults and children set under Ingredients, so set those first.
Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 45 gcabbage
- 36 gground pork
Seasonings
- 0.2 gsalt (for salting the vegetables)
- 7.5 gpanko (for the mixture)
- 6 gsweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu)Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- 0.2 gsalt (for the dough)
- to tastepepper
- 10.5 gflour
- 15 gwater
- 7.5 gpanko (for coating)
- 9 gvegetable oil
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- sweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu) (調製豆乳)
- Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
Directions
- 1
Finely chop the cabbage and rub the salt into it. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes so the salt is absorbed, then squeeze it well to remove the water.
- 2
Add the panko, soy milk, salt and pepper to the ground pork and knead thoroughly until the mixture becomes sticky.
- 3
Add the cabbage from step 1 and mix well. Toss the mixture back and forth between your palms to knock out the air, then shape it into rounds.
- 4
Coat the patties from step 3 first in a batter made by mixing the flour and water, then in the panko, and deep-fry in oil at 170°C (340°F).
Kneading the mixture well gives the patties a smooth, tender texture, and knocking out the air keeps them from bursting while they cook.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 255 kcal | 510 kcal | 255 kcal |
| Protein | 10.1 g | 20.1 g | 10.1 g |
| Fat | 16 g | 32.1 g | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20.9 g | 41.7 g | 20.9 g |
| Fiber | 2 g | 3.9 g | 2 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 27 mg | 54 mg | 27 mg |
| Iron | 0.8 mg | 1.5 mg | 0.8 mg |
| Potassium | 237 mg | 474 mg | 237 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 255 kcal | 10.1 g | 16 g | 20.9 g | 2 g | 0.6 g | 27 mg | 0.8 mg | 237 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 510 kcal | 20.1 g | 32.1 g | 41.7 g | 3.9 g | 1.2 g | 54 mg | 1.5 mg | 474 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
