My boyfriend is a fan of this certain Katsu type sandwich and had asked me to recreate a katsu sandwich at home. When  I thought of katsu, I immediately thought of crunchy panko bread crumbs, asian slaw, and some type of spicy mayo. I was going to do a sriracha mayo but I wanted to be more adventurous. I ordered a sandwich up in the Bay Area and fell in love with the habanero aioli they used, so I decided to go onthe spicier route and make habanero mayo. This habanero mayo gives this sandwich another level of flavor.  This is one crispy and flavorful sandwich.

*Yields 4 sandwiches or double up the pork on each sandwich for 2.

Ingredients:

Habanero Mayo:

• 1/4 cup of mayo (I used kewpie mayo)
• 3 habanero peppers finely chopped and deseeded (leave seeds in for more heat)
• pinch of fresh lime juice
• 2 pinches of white sugar

Asian slaw dressing:

• 4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 4 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. white sugar
• 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 small shallot diced
• pepper to taste

Pork Dredge:

• All purpose flour
• 2 eggs beaten
• Panko bread crumbs

Other Ingredients:

• 4 boneless pork loin chops (discard fat)
• Salt and Pepper
• Premade slaw
• Store bought Pesto
• Butter
• French Toast Bread/Texas Toast Bread/Challah Bread

1. Mix all ingredients for the Habanero Mayo and set aside. *Best to do this the day before.
2. Mix all ingredients for asian slaw dresssing and dress the slaw with the dressing.
3. Season your chops with salt and pepper on both sides.
4. Dredge pork in flour, dip in egg, and dip in panko. Let pork sit for 20 minutes before frying.
5. Heat up vegetable oil and cook pork until golden brown and fully cooked thru.
6. Toast your bread on the griddle- add butter to griddle and toast bread on both sides.
7. To assemble: slather some habanero mayo on one piece of bread, slather pesto on the other piece of bread, add the pork katsu, and top with asian slaw.