Red miso katsu (Nagoya-style) ($7)!
Chinatown hawker Japanese — sliced panko pork katsu with red miso (akamiso) sauce + Kewpie mayo, sushi rice with black sesame, pickled ginger, miso soup. $7.
Lunch — red miso katsu at Chinatown hawker for $7. The Nagoya-style. 😋
What was on the black plate ($7):
- Sliced panko pork katsu strips on lettuce bed.
- Sushi rice with black sesame seeds sprinkled.
- Pickled yellow daikon + carrot garnish.
- Red miso sauce + Kewpie mayo dip ramekin.
- Miso soup (top right).
Red miso katsu (味噌カツ) is the Nagoya specialty — pork katsu served with sweet-savoury red miso (akamiso) sauce instead of the standard tonkatsu sauce. Red miso = aged-fermented soybean paste with deeper, richer, slightly bitter umami profile. Different from the lighter shiro/white miso.
The Kewpie mayo dollop balances the salty-savoury akamiso with creamy sweetness.
$7 = good hawker pricing for Nagoya-style katsu. Specialised Japanese restaurants charge $18-25 for this dish.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. Akamiso sauce had proper aged depth, katsu was crispy, rice with black sesame was a nice detail. Regional Japanese done at hawker price. 😋👍🏼
