INTRODUCTION

The name of this recipe sounds so alien as it is a German word but this recipe is nothing too distant from Asian cuisines. It is such a famous dish that the name has already accepted as an English word.  Let’s look at the definition in Wikipedia:

“A schnitzel is meat, thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer, coated with flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and then fried. Originating in Austria, it is popular in many countries and made using either veal, mutton, chicken, beef, turkey, reindeer, or pork. It is very similar to the French dish escalope. The dish called Wiener Schnitzel is a popular part of Viennese cuisine. It is made of pork and is traditionally garnished with a slice of lemon and either potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter. The term Wiener Schnitzel is a protected geographical indication in Austria and Germany and can only be made of veal. When pork is used, the dish must be called Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein or Schnitzel nach Wiener Art to differentiate it from the veal original.”

So in very Chinese layman terms, it is just some deep fried pork chop (炸猪排）and it is very similar to Japanese katsudon. If you are interested in the popular Japanese pork chop rice recipe, you can refer to this post: Katsudon (カツ丼, 猪肉盖浇饭, 日式猪排饭） by clicking on the link or the picture below.

My joining of some Australian food groups sparked my curiosity to find out more about this dish. Almost on a daily basis, there will be members who prepared schnitzels be it chicken or pork. The dishes look delicious and some have sauces pour on top of the deep fried pork chops.

I Google some recipes to look for important ingredients or pointers of this famous dish, out of my surprise, the recipe is extremely simple in terms of method preparation, ingredients and seasoning. I assessed and I am sure most Asians including my family members will like this simple schnitzel and  therefore I have decided to try out and share the recipe.  Yes, it did not disappoint me, the meat is succulent and the crust is crispy for 1-2 hours.

I cannot rate this as an authentic recipe because I am unsure what it is usually served with but I am sure most local readers will be able to find your favourite side dishes and main dish to go with these pork chops. 

As explained by Wikipedia, for this recipe, if you do not take pork, feel free to use your prefer meat such as chicken, veal, beef, turkey etc. The method of preparation is the same as for pork.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings : 4 adult servings

• 4 pieces of pork chop  of less than 1 cm thickness (about 400 grams)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup of plain flour
• 1 cup of bread crumbs or Panko
• Salt to taste
• Dashes of black pepper

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Use the back of a big knife or meat tenderizer to lightly hit the meat so as to break the meat fibre.  This will ensure tenderer meat and not a piece of tough chewy meat. Sprinkle with some salt and dashes of black pepper on the meat, rub evenly and let it seasoned for 5 minutes.

• Heat up a pan of oil  and get ready three plates for plain flour, bread crumbs and beaten eggs.

• Coat the meat evenly with the plain flour and transfer it to the second plate and coat with beaten eggs adequately. Lastly, coat the meat evenly with the bread crumbs.

• Place the well coated meat to the hot oil carefully. Reduce the heat to medium. Do not touch the meat for the first 4 minutes. After 5 minutes, flip over the meat and deep fry until almost golden brown. Before draining, INCREASE THE HEAT TO HIGH, deep fry both sides for an additional 2 minutes each to force out the oil trapped inside the meat. Drain using kitchen towel and place the schnitzel separately without overlapping in an airy area.

• To test the doneness, use a skewer to pierce through the meat, if it can be easily pierced through without any blood water coming out, the meat is considered as done. Timing is for reference and will depend on the thickness of your pork chop.

• Best served hot with lemon slices and any other side dishes or main course of your choice.

Note:

• In the event that your pork chop is too oily due to frying problems, transfer the oily pork chops to an oven tray lined with kitchen towel, bake in the oven  at 100 degree Celsius for about 10 minutes. In this process, excess oil will be excreted and absorbed by the kitchen towel.

• If your schnitzels turn soft after a few hour, use the same method to bake in the oven to regain crispiness.

• With the pounding process of tenderizing the meat, any cut of pork  is acceptable. For this illustration, I have used frozen pork belly cut sold in the supermarket.

CONCLUSION

Are you surprised that deep fried pork chop that was sold in the pasar malam or restaurant are so easy to prepare? The recipe is simple but it is the technique of preparation that will make the schnitzel perfect.. As long as you get a golden brown crispy crust with succulent meat and not oily, you have done well. Remember the pounding process to break the fibre and the heat used to deep frying the pork chops. Feel free to have this pork chop with your favourite side dish and main course. How about a bowl of soupy pork chop noodles?

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