Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish made with breaded, fried pork. Ton means βpork,β and katsu is short for the English βcutlet,β from the French cΓ΄telette. It’s one of the most popular dishes in Japan β easy to make and incredibly delicious. Try it and you’ll love it, especially now that you can make this crispy breaded pork in the air fryer.
Like many other popular dishes in Japan (think ramen, tempura, soba, etc.), some restaurants specialize exclusively in this juicy pork cutlet. And no tonkatsu plate is complete without a mound of freshly shredded cabbage and a generous drizzle of homemade tonkatsu sauce.
A little history…
Before tonkatsu took off as a pork dish in the early 20th century, it was mainly made with beef.
When the recipe first appeared in the 1870s, it was already considered a yoshoku dish (that is, a Japanese dish inspired by Western cuisine). Only a few decades later, beef was replaced by pork, creating the beloved dish we enjoy today.
Tonkatsu is said to have been inspired by the French veal cutlet β essentially a breaded veal escalope pan-fried in butter. A Tokyo restaurant called Rengatei η η¦δΊ (still open today!) adapted the concept to suit Japanese tastes, and in 1899, tonkatsu made its debut.
Tips for perfect pork tonkatsu
This step is optional, but it gives a much better result: about 10 minutes beforehand, lightly mist the panko breadcrumbs with a spray bottle. Once cooked, the panko breadcrumbs will be more compact, golden and beautiful.
Serve it with the famous tonkatsu sauce; you can find ready-made sauce in Asian grocery stores, but I’m sharing my easy homemade version here as well. It’s very simple to make.
Make several small cuts in the connective tissue (the white part) between the meat and the fat. Meat and fat have different elasticity and shrink at different rates during cooking. This will keep the tonkatsu nice and flat and prevent it from curling up.
If you have a meat mallet, pound away! This will make the meat extra tender and help it hold its shape.
Another classic of Japanese cuisine is yaki udon.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Boneless pork chops or pork fillets
- Salt
- Pepper
Breading
- 1 Large egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons Wheat flour, in a shallow dish
- 1 shallow dish Panko breadcrumbs
Tonkatsu Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
Instructions
- Pound the pork with the back of a knife or a meat mallet until lightly flattened. Season both sides with salt and pepper and trim any excess fat from the edges.
- Dredge the pork in the flour, pressing lightly to coat evenly, then shake off any excess.
- Dip into the beaten egg, coating completely and letting any excess drip off.
- Coat thoroughly in the panko breadcrumbs, pressing gently to adhere, then shake off any excess.
- Preheat the air fryer to 180Β°C.
- Arrange the pork in a single even layer and cook for 15 minutes at 180Β°C, flipping halfway through.
- Let rest for 2 minutes before slicing.
- For the sauce, whisk the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and sugar together in a small bowl until smooth.
