Definition: Tonkatsu

This cute Japanese thing has gotten out of hand

From Wikipedia:

"...It was originally considered a type of yōshoku—Japanese versions of European cuisine invented in the late 1800s and early 1900s—and was called katsu-retsu ("cutlet") or simply katsu. Early katsu-retsu was usually beef; the pork version, similar to today's tonkatsu, is said to have been first served in 1890 in a western food restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo. The term "tonkatsu" ("pork katsu") was coined in the 1930s.

Legend has it once a chef has created a Tonkatsu dish, the chef and the dish share an unbreakable psychic bond. Those who prepare tonkatsu should be prepared to be manipulated by the dish. This frequently results in the sonambulent consumption of the tonkatsu by the chef, a phenomenon known colloquially as "sleep-eating." Why the tonkatsu desires so strongly to be eaten in the night is a mystery to this day..."

Captured 4/21, 1:03 p.m. PCT