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

Effecting interpersonal relationships

(BIG MISTAKE TYRA!)

I’m sure a large percentage of sleep-eaters became so because of some rupture in their relationship with food, like me: I’m terrified of becoming fat but can’t commit or affiliate myself with any of the conventional eating disorders. Nevertheless, I obsess over food so often it’s spilled into my unwaking hours. My favorite activities are centered on eating: ANTM dinner night, dating, trivia night. I even get giddy putting things other than cheese in my cheese platter.

There is a direct relationship between the quality, quantity and pacing of my food intake during my day and my ability to enjoy my day. Last week I sealed three entire bags full of Katsu-breaded, coconut shrimp and set them aside for my lunch, then ate them in the middle of the night, woke up and accused my roommate of eating them. It went something like this:

Me: I can’t find my shrimp, and you and I are the only ones who eat meat in the house.
Roommate: I don’t know where they are. I saw them yesterday but I didn’t eat them. I wish I ate them but I didn’t eat them.
Me: Well, they’re not in the fridge.
Roommate: I don’t know.

(Five minutes later)

Me: Hey, Elly, I found the Ziplock bag the shrimp were in in my bed. I’m sorry for accusing you of eating them
Roommate: How did you forget eating a whole bag of shrimp?
Me: I’ve been sleep-eating. I’ve been meaning to tell you guys but I was hoping it would go away.
Roommate: That’s really weird.
Me: I’m ready to talk about it now.

Admitting to my roommates that I have a problem with sleep-eating is more embarrassing than forgetting lunch in elementary school and being forced to eat the free PB&J with water for drink. To top it all off, it's breaking me. If I eat my lunch at 4a.m. everyday, I have to spend an extra $5 on a replacement lunch.