Menchi-katsu is a Japanese dish made by mixing ground meat with chopped onions and seasonings, shaping it into patties, coating them with breadcrumbs, and deep-frying them. In the Kanto region, a mix of pork and beef is used, while in the Kansai region, it is typically made with 100% beef. Menchi-katsu originated in the Meiji era at a Western-style restaurant as a minced meat version of tonkatsu (pork cutlet). There is an interesting story behind its name. The restaurant owner who created the dish wanted to give it a name that even foreigners could understand, so he asked a foreign customer how to say "ground meat" in English. The customer answered "mince meat," but the owner misheard it as "menchi meat" and named the dish "menchi-katsu." After that, menchi-katsu spread across Japan, and people began referring to ground meat as "menchi." Even today, ground meat is often called "minchi" (ミンチ) in Japan, which evolved from "menchi" to be closer to the English pronunciation.