Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).

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We'll respond to our readers’ requests regarding recipes in four parts starting this week.

A 75-year-old resident of Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward wrote to us requesting a recipe for “Milanese-style fried tenderloin cutlet.”

She said she came to like it after having it for lunch at an Italian restaurant and wished to make it herself.

In Italy, the usual ingredient for the dish is veal, which is prepared thin, and as large as or larger than the plate.

After discussing with chef Kuniaki Arima ways to make a recipe that would suit home cooking in Japan, we chose to make it with pork tenderloin, which, like veal, is tender and has little fat.

By using fine, dry breadcrumbs, the coating will turn golden and crunchy in a short period of time, and you'll get Milanese-style “hire-katsu” that is nice and moist.

Mixing garlic and cheese into the breadcrumbs and the olive oil used for frying adds savory "umami" flavoring to the light-tasting meat.

Though small in amount, they work wonders and only a sprinkle of salt is needed to enjoy the dish.

Small fried cutlets may lack visual impact, but by using them you can enjoy fried food without worrying about the oil splashing when you cook it or whether the meat is undercooked. It's likely to retain its flavor even when cold, making it good to pack in box lunches.

SHALLOW-FRYING GOES A LONG WAY

You can expand your cooking repertoire by learning the technique of shallow-frying breaded food. When cooking a chicken breast, halve the thickness and pound to make it thinner. You can use marlin (“kajiki”) fillet to make a southern Italian version of the recipe.

Adding herbs, such as chopped fresh or dry oregano, rosemary and parsley, to the breadcrumbs will give your dish a more refreshing taste. Be careful of the heat level since they'll turn bitter when burnt.

Butter lovers can replace half the olive oil with butter for added flavor. If you have cherry tomatoes, chop them up, mix with a bit of garlic, salt and olive oil. Wait until the water in the tomatoes evaporates and you'll have a fresh tomato sauce to accompany the fried cutlet.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

(Supervised by Kuniaki Arima in the cooking aspect and Midori Kasai in the cookery science aspect)

* Ingredients (Serve two)

200 grams pork tenderloin (buta-hire), 30 grams dry breadcrumbs, 1 tsp grated cheese (or powdered cheese), 1/4 tsp grated garlic, some flour, 1 egg, some olive oil, some salt, bit of sugar, bit of pepper

About 365 kcal and 1.1 grams salt per portion

1. Rub dry breadcrumbs between your palms to turn them finer or place them in a plastic bag and roll a rolling pin over it. Mix in grated cheese and garlic.

2. Have pork tenderloin in rod shape ready. Insert knife at 5 mm from end and cut till 2/3 of thickness. Then insert knife at 5mm from the cut end and slice apart this time. You will get 6 to 8 slices this way. Unfold, slap with large spoon until thickness is 3 to 4 mm (PHOTO A).

3. Sprinkle a bit of sugar, salt and pepper on one side of meat. Prepare flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs for the coating. Apply in the order of flour, egg and breadcrumbs on both sides and press so they attach (PHOTO B). Cooling in the fridge for about 10 minutes will make it easier to handle when frying.

4. Spread 2 Tbsp olive oil in frying pan and lay in half of the slices. Turn on heat and cook on low heat without moving them. When edge starts to color after 3 to 4 minutes, turn sides (PHOTO C). Add oil if it does not spread under all slices. When slices color after about 2 minutes, turn again. Raise heat a little to turn the coating crisp and remove. Sprinkle bit of salt while still hot. Cook the rest of meat in the same way but cooking time will be shorter since the frying pan is already hot. Serve with lemon to taste.

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Kuniaki Arima is the owner-chef of Passo a Passo, an Italian restaurant in Tokyo’s Fukagawa.
Midori Kasai is a professor at Ochanomizu University and former chairwoman of the Japan Society of Cookery Science.

ARRANGED VERSION

Fried Cutlet Sandwich

The only thing you place in the sandwich is the cutlet. Place a piece of fried cutlet on bread of your choice, apply a bit of mustard and “chuno” sauce (Worcester sauce in medium thickness) and top with another piece of bread.

COOKERY SCIENCE

When frying food, water and oil switch places (water exits and oil enters) in the coating. Since fresh breadcrumbs contain more water than the dry type, the temperature of the oil is likely to fall. So, if frying time is short, moisture will remain and the fried coating may turn out sticky. Dry breadcrumbs suit the shallow-frying method since they allow water and oil to switch in a short time and come out crunchy.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column