“I know this isn’t a traditional katsu, but when it tastes this good, are you really going to complain?” says chef Gordon Ramsay. “While you’re at it, make double of the tonkatsu sauce. It’s the Japanese equivalent of HP or steak sauce – sweet and tangy – and it goes brilliantly with burgers, pulled pork and bacon sandwiches, as well as the Japanese classic, pork tonkatsu. It will keep for at least a week if stored in the fridge in a sealed container.”
Read: The health benefits of eating tuna
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 tablespoons (heaped) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 egg
- 60g panko breadcrumbs
- dash of milk
- 2 x 170g (5oz) thick tuna steaks
- 180g (6oz) white cabbage
- 60g (2oz) pickled ginger, plus a splash of the pickling liquid
- 4 thick slices of white bloomer loaf, crusts removed
- freshly ground black pepper
For the tonkatsu sauce
- 125ml tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- pinch of chilli flakes
To serve
- 1/2 green apple (optional)
- 1 teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds or untoasted black sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Method
Place a heavy-based frying pan (skillet) over a high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil.
Put the flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs into three separate bowls. Season the flour with black pepper. Add a little milk to the egg and beat with a fork.
Read: Gordon Ramsay is searching for culinary inspiration
Dip each tuna steak in the flour, making sure it is well coated. Shake off any excess, then dip it in the egg followed by the breadcrumbs.
Place the steaks in the hot oil and cook for one minute on each side.
Meanwhile, finely slice the cabbage with a mandolin or the blade side of a box grater and combine in a bowl with the pickled ginger and pickling juice.
Make the tonkatsu sauce by combining the tomato sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mirin in a bowl. Grate in the garlic, add the chilli flakes and stir well.
To assemble each sandwich, spread the tonkatsu sauce on two slices of bread and top one of them with the cabbage slaw. Place the tuna steak on the slaw and sit the other slice of bread on top.
Read: The ultimate green sandwich
Finely slice the apple (if using) using a mandolin or sharp knife, then sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).
Cut each sandwich in half and serve with the apple salad, lime wedges and any leftover tonkatsu sauce on the side.
Ramsay In 10 by Gordon Ramsay is published by Hodder & Stoughton. Photography Jamie Orlando-Smith, available now.
What’s your go-to sandwich filling? What do you think of tuna katsu? Please let us know how the recipe works for you in the comments section below.
– With PA
If you enjoy our content, don’t keep it to yourself. Share our free eNews with your friends and encourage them to sign up.