Tonkatsu (deep fried pork) Recipe
Tonkatsu (トンカツ) is one of the most beloved western style Japanese foods called yōshoku (洋食). It is a pork loin breaded with flour, egg, and Panko (bread crumbs), then deep fried. It’s not the healthiest Japanese food, but it is rather a comfort food which everybody can’t get enough of.
- 2 pork loin chops (about 1/2" thick, no bones)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup panko or bread crumbs
- oil for deep frying
- Tonkatsu Sauce
- Make small cuts all over the pork chops with the tip of a knife. Pound the meat with a meat tenderizer. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the meat.
- Coat the meat with flour, dip in egg, and then cover with bread crumbs.
- Heat deep frying oil to 350 F, and deep fry the crumb-covered meat. You can check the temperature by dropping a bread crumb in the oil. If it comes up to the oil surface right after it's dropped, it's ready.
- Fry until the color turns golden brown and the meat floats in the oil, about 5-8 minutes, turning once or twice.
- Set the meat on a cooling rack for a minute. Cut into 5-6 pieces. Drizzle Tonkatsu Sauce over if you like.
There are a lot of Tonkatsu restaurants in Japan, from small local shops to national chain restaurants. It might be a little hard to find Tonkatsu restaurants outside of Japan since it’s such a specialized store. Good news is, though, making Tonkatsu at home is not hard at all. If you are willing to deal with a large amount of hot oil and to clean up the mess afterward, you’ll be rewarded with a crispy delicious treat. Most of the ingredients in the recipe are easily found at supermarkets.
What is Tonkatsu?
Katsu is a Japanese word for cutlet, and it is a deep fried meat coated with crispy bread crumbs. Tonkatsu means pork cutlet as “Ton” means pork (豚). Chicken Katsu is another popular variation of Katsu.
- Pork loin (ロース) is the most commonly used cut of pork for Tonkatsu, but pork fillet katsu (ヒレカツ) is also popular.
- Bread crumbs we use are Japanese style breadcrumbs called Panko. It is medium-size bread crumbs and that makes a perfectly crispy crust for Tonkatsu. It is available at most U.S. supermarkets and online store. Italian bread crumbs are too fine and that doesn’t give the crunch we want. On the other hand, coarser, bigger pieces of bread crumbs like fresh bread crumbs could absorb a bit too much oil and might make Tonkatsu greasy.
- Tonkatsu sauce is an important flavoring for the dish. Although the pork is seasoned well with salt and pepper and good by itself, the sweet and tangy Tonkatsu sauce completes this dish. The sauce is similar in taste to Worcestershire sauce but much thicker and heavier. It is available at Japanese markets or online stores, but if you can’t find it at all, you can make it by mixing 1 part Worcestershire sauce and 2 parts ketchup (at least something similar).
- Other sauces and condiments: Tonkatsu Sauce is pretty much the best condiment for Tonkatsu, but there are other sauces you may want to try. A mixture of freshly ground sesame seeds and Tonkatsu Sauce is a nutty and rich tasting sauce. Another sauce is a more Japanese-style sauce of grated Daikon radish and Ponzu Sauce. This sauce gives the dish a little lighter feel because of the spiciness of fresh Daikon and the sourness of citrus. If you like to experiment with different flavors on Tonkatsu, make a couple of different sauces.
Variations of Tonkatsu
There are a lot of variations of dishes you can make with Tonkatsu.
What to serve with Tonkatsu
- Thinly shredded cabbage almost always accompanies Tonkatsu. It is supposed to cut the greasiness of the fried pork, and it complements Tonkatsu very well. A vegetable slicer or a mandoline slicer is a great tool to slice the cabbage thinly.
Short Video
A full recipe video is also available in the recipe box below and on our YouTube channel.
