Is katsudon a dish best served cold? Trying out the new Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon in Tokyo【Taste test】
Most people would say that there aren't a lot of similarities between revenge and a pork cutlet bowl/katsudon. Among other key differences, revenge often leaves one feeling empty and consumed by sadness, while consuming katsudon is one of the quickest ways to achieve both fullness and joy.
But could it be that these two things, opposites in so many ways, are both dishes best served cold?
We're willing to accept the old adage about the ideal temperature of revenge at its word, but testing the merits of cold katsudon is a little trickier. Unlike, say, soba noodles or edamame, which are commonly eaten both hot and cold in Japan, pretty much no restaurants serve cold katsudon. Nobody, that is, but katsudon chain Yoshibei.
Until very recently, if you wanted to go to Yoshibei you had to go to either Hyogo or Osaka Prefecture. Luckily for us, though, just this past June Yoshibei opened its very first east Japan branch, in downtown Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood, not too far from SoraNews24 HQ. This meant we were now within lunchtime striking distance of Yoshibei's cold Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon, a special limited-time item it's added to the menu for the summer.
The 980-yen (US$6.75) Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon's rhyming name is a result of it not only being served cold ('hiyashi'), but also with dashi, a mixture of bonito stock and soy sauce. After ordering the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon, we waited for the server to bring us our katsudon…
…and its accompanying bottle of dashi, which had been thoroughly chilled and was very cold to the touch.
At this point, the katsudon is basically a variant on 'sauce katsudon,' with a glaze brushed onto the top of the cutlet, but with the addition of some sliced negi (green onion), nori (dried seaweed) and sesame seeds. The final step to transform it into Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon is left to diners themselves to perform, by raising the bottle and pouring its contents into the bowl.
It was at this point that it dawned on us that the katsudon's additional toppings of nori and sesame seeds are also common components of ochazuke, a bowl of rice with dashi and/or green tea poured over it. And sure enough, the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon's rice now tasted amazing, with the mixture of strong flavors and cold temperature refreshing and invigorating us on what had been another in the long string of super-hot days Japan has had this summer.
Turning to the cutlet, it too had absorbed the additional flavor of the dashi, and to our surprise, the breading on the pieces of pork had retained its light crispiness, with no unpleasant sogginess having been introduced to the texture.
However, things were about to get kicked up even one notch higher on the scale of deliciousness. If you've got sharp eyes, you might have noticed one ingredient in these photos that we haven't mentioned yet, and that we didn't expect to see either because it's left out of the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon's name: yuzu kosho. This citrus chili paste is a zesty wasabi substitute, and mixing it into the dashi enhanced it with a quick kick of tart spice.
▼ The yuzu kosho sits atop the rice when the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon is served, but Yoshibei has sort of buried the lede by leaving it out of the dish's name, since it's not a standard katsudon condiment.
Put it all together, and the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon is unique without feeling discordant, hearty enough to satisfy a healthy appetite but cold enough to still feel refreshing. Add in the fact that, like with ochazuke, it's OK to eat it with a spoon, and we polished ours off, happily, in lightning time.
So, as weird as the idea seemed to us at first, cold katsudon really is great, and while you can only take revenge once, we're looking forward to repeating this meal a few more times before summer is over.
Related: Yoshibei location list
Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
15 hours ago
- Japan Today
Lawson now sells old rice as 'vintage' onigiri in Japan
By Oona McGee, SoraNews24 There's a severe shortage of rice in Japan at the moment, and the situation is so dire that the government recently released emergency stockpiles to make the everyday staple more widely available. As these are emergency stockpiles, though, the rice isn't freshly harvested — in fact, some would go so far as to call it old, with stocks dating back several years. Still, old rice may be better than no rice at all, and many of the country's convenience stores are now selling it through their branches, both as bags of grain, and, in the case of Lawson, onigiri rice balls. Two varieties, Salt Onigiri and Dashi Onigiri, have just been released, and both of them are made with emergency stockpiled rice from Japan's 2021 harvest. ▼ Given the dated nature of the rice used, these onigiri are priced at 108 yen each, which is cheaper than other onigiri at the chain. It's rare for people in Japan to eat four-year-old rice, let alone buy it in a store, particularly in rice ball form, so we just had to find out what these tasted like. Starting with the Salt Onigiri, we took a bite and discovered it had a surprising sourness to it. This had nothing to do with the age of the grains, though, as the list of ingredients revealed that in addition to salt, seasoned rice vinegar had also been used. ▼ Seasoned rice vinegar (調味酢) is the second ingredient on the list, after non-glutinous rice (うるち米) and before salt (食塩). The balance seemed a little off as the vinegar overpowered the salt, and in terms of texture, the rice felt somewhat dry compared to a typical convenience store onigiri. It wasn't inedible, but if we're being honest, it didn't have the same moist and plump mouthfeel as a regular salt onigiri, and it seemed as if the vinegar had been added in an attempt to add moisture and soften the grains. Slightly disappointed by the dryness of the rice, we moved on to try the next rice ball, Dashi Onigiri. Taking a bite, this one revealed a pronounced flavor of dashi stock, making it much more delicious than the Salt Onigiri. Although this one also contains seasoned vinegar, the acidity is barely noticeable as the dashi reigns supreme, making it our preferred choice. While the dashi provides bagfuls of flavor, there's still no hiding the texture of the rice, which leaves a lot to be desired. Having previously tried stockpiled rice out of desperation recently, we were actually surprised by how dry these rice balls were. The stockpiled rice we'd purchased, and cooked up in a rice cooker at home, didn't seem all that different to regular rice, but these onigiri were much dryer than expected, making them less enjoyable than non-old-rice onigiri. According to Lawson, the chain plans to sell approximately 7 million of these by the end of August, by which time they'll no longer be available. According to us, they'll do in a pinch, especially if you're on a tight budget, but if flavor and texture are higher on your list of priorities, you might want to give these particular convenience store finds a miss. Photos © SoraNews24 Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Lawson debuts new fried chicken so let's see how it compares to other stores -- Lawson's exclusive sparkling sake in a can is filled with surprises -- In celebration of Onigiri Day, we compare rice balls from three different convenience stores External Link © SoraNews24
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Nagasaki marks 80 years since atomic bombing as hibakusha numbers dwindle
Nagasaki marked 80 years since the U.S. atomic bombing of the city on a rainy Saturday, amid frustration among the dwindling number of survivors that their powerful calls for eradicating nuclear weapons are falling on deaf ears. At 11:02 a.m., the city observed a moment of silence marking the exact time the bomb exploded on Aug. 9, 1945, leaving an estimated 74,000 people dead in the ensuing chaos. It was the second and final nuclear weapon to be used in conflict, after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 that year, killing some 140,000. Japan surrendered days later, on August 15, 1945, ushering in the end of the Second World War.
NHK
4 days ago
- NHK
Hiroshima remembers atomic bombing
The US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima exactly 80 years ago. Newsroom Tokyo's Yamasawa Rina puts the survivors in the spotlight.
