Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish made from pork cutlets, breaded in panko breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown. It is served with a sweet and spicy tonkatsu sauce and often accompanied by shredded cabbage. Tonkatsu is part of yohshoku, a collection of Japanese dishes inspired by Western cuisine.
Tonkatsu is a popular dish in Japanese cuisine made from pork cutlets and is classified as yohshoku, which is a collection of dishes inspired by Western cuisine. Draped in specialized baking and then fried to a golden brown, tonkatsu is typically topped with a unique sweet and spicy sauce. It is often served with shredded cabbage, which may be plain or topped with lemon juice or other dressings.
Yohshoku is a name given to dishes inspired by Western cuisine, but with a Japanese twist. Based on fried foods common in the United States, tonkatsu is reimagined in Japanese with the use of panko breadcrumbs and tonkatsu sauce. In Japan, it is served in Japanese restaurants, establishments serving all Western-style cuisine, and even restaurants that specialize in serving different variations of this dish.
Unlike typical Western fried pork cutlets, which are usually dredged in flour or finely ground breadcrumbs, the pork is dredged in Japanese breadcrumbs known as panko. While this style of breadcrumbs is made from white bread just like most other varieties, the bread isn’t ground into a fine powder before drying; rather, it is flaked into relatively large pieces and then dried until crisp. Sold in most Japanese grocery stores, as well as stores around the world, panko breadcrumbs give tonkatsu a very noticeable crunchy texture.
For this dish, the boneless pork chops are pounded with a hammer until they are relatively thin and even thick all the way through. The pork is then breaded in breadcrumbs and pan-fried until cooked through and golden brown. Occasionally, the pork can be cut into small pieces before breading it and then served as finger food or on skewers. This style of tonkatsu is known as kushikatsu.
This dish is relatively simple on its own; more often than not, the breading is seasoned with just salt and pepper. For added flavor, a specialized sauce aptly named tonkatsu is typically served with fried pork cutlets. Rice wine, soybeans and Worcestershire sauce are the main ingredients and it is typically seasoned with cloves, garlic and mustard. The sauce can be topped with the pork or served on the side for dipping. It can also be topped with reconstituted mustard powder or steak sauce.
Most often, these deep-fried pork chops are served with a side of raw, shredded cabbage. This can be dressed lightly with lemon juice or a Japanese-style dressing. Despite this, it is commonly served plain, and tonkatsu sauce is used to season the cabbage. It can also be served with other fried foods as a lunch or dinner dish or with gyoza, which are fried dumplings filled with pork.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
