Tonkatsu was my introduction to Japanese cuisine. Before I acquired the taste for raw fish, tonkatsu was the only thing I ordered at Japanese restaurants.
Tonkatsu is deep-fried breaded pork cutlets. Seasoned pork is dredged in flour, dipped in beaten egg and coated in panko before going into a pan of hot oil. If the frying temperature is correct, the meat gets cooked through without drying at exactly the same time that the breading turns golden and crisp.
Cut and thickness of the pork
The cutlet can be fillet or loin but certainly not the Western pork chop cut with bone. I used to be partial to fillet cut from the shoulder because a little marbled fat makes tonkatsu more moist inside. These days, however, I prefer pork steaks.
The marbling is so much better and we get them pre-sliced to exactly half an inch thick. If you can’t get something similar, you can have the cutlets prepared by the butcher or you can get a slab of pork and cut it at home.
Once you have your pork cutlets, simply sprinkle both sides of each one with salt and pepper. Then, you have to give the meat enough time to soak up the flavors. Not long. If the cutlets are half an inch thick, thirty minutes should do it. If they are three-quarters of an inch thick, add another 15 minutes.
Breading the seasoned pork
You need three ingredients to create the crust for the pork. Flour, egg and panko. It’s really a bad idea to substitute ordinary bread crumbs for the panko. Bread crumbs are too fine and you won’t get the ideal texture for the crust. So, use panko.
Dredge the pork in flour and make sure to shake off the excess. The floured pork is then dipped in egg then coated with panko. If you’re wondering why you need flour, egg and panko, here’s the thing. Without the flour, the egg will just drip off the meat. Without the egg, the panko will not stick to the meat. So, yes, you need flour, egg and panko.
Frying the panko-coated pork
Deep fry the pork. Frying the pork in just two inches of oil and flipping them was a mistake I used to make in the past. Don’t copy my mistake. Flipping loosens some of the panko which float on the oil and get burnt.
Deep frying means you don’t need to flip the pork over. If you feel that the crusts are not browning evenly, use a ladle to scoop hot oil and pour hot oil over the pork repeatedly. That way, if the tops are peeping above the surface of the oil, they will still brown correctly with no need to touch the pork.
Tonkatsu (Japanese Deep-fried Breaded Pork Cutlet)
Recipe by
Ingredients
For the pork
- 4 pork cutlets or use pork steaks like we do
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
For the tonkatsu sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon grated garlic
- â…› teaspoon grated ginger
To serve
- rice
- shredded cabbage
Instructions
Season the pork
- Lay the pork cutlets flat on the work surface. If the thickness is uneven, cover them with cling wrap and use a mallet to pound them until the thickness is uniform. You want them anywhere from half-inch to three-quarter-inch thick.
- Sprinkle both sides of each cutlet with salt and pepper.
- Cover and set aside for 30 minutes while you prep the rest of the components of the dish. This is the best time to cook your rice, shred your cabbage and mix your sauce.
Make the sauce
- Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.
- Taste, adjust to suit your taste and set aside.
Fry the pork
- Prepare three shallow bowls. Dump the flour in one, crack the egg into the second and pour the panko into the third.
- Lightly beat the egg.
- Start heating enough cooking oil in a frying pan to reach a depth of three inches (see notes after the recipe).
- While you wait for the oil heat up, prepare the cutlets.
- Dredge each pork cutlet in flour; shake off the excess.
- Dip the floured cutlets in the beaten egg.
- Roll the wet cutlets in panko.
- Fry the pork cutlets, in batches if your frying pan cannot hold all four together, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
Serve your tonkatsu
- Cut the tonkatsu into strips and arrange on plates. Drizzle sauce over the meat or serve the sauce on the side.
- Serve with rice and shredded cabbage on the side.
