Originating in the late 19th century, Tonkatsu is Japan's version of a deep-fried, breaded pork cutlet. It was derived from European-style breaded and fried cuts of meat, but quickly became very popular in Japanese cuisine, as it still is today. Tonkatsu is typically a pork filet or loin that has been lightly dredged in flour, dipped in beaten eggs, and coated with panko breadcrumbs then fried to form a crispy, yet light and satisfying main protein often served with shredded cabbage and a thick, brown accompanying sauce. While regional variations of meats and flavors exist throughout Japan, the original Pork Tonkatsu remains the favorite among most culinary connoisseurs around the globe! This Tonkatsu recipe is a nod to the original tried-and-true version of a breaded pork cutlet so wipe that drool off your lips and get ready to conquer this simple, yet delicious meal...Let's Get Cooking!
Tonkatsu is great on its own, but the sauce takes it to the next level so we will start by making it so it has time to set up and fortify in the refrigerator before we need it for our pork cutlets. In a small bowl, combine some ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and yellow mustard. Mix this well until it forms a homogenous sauce. Cover it with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge until you are ready to serve your Tonkatsu!
Now that the sauce is ready, we can move on to preparing the pork cutlets. Look for boneless pork loin chops in the grocery, as they are the best cut for this dish. If you really want to save some money, purchase the whole loin and break it down yourself into several chops and other cuts for various dishes. Lay a whole loin out in front of yourself with the thinner, darker meat side to the right. That is the rib end, which is great for stir fries and stews. The other end, the widest section, is typically cut into thin chops and 1 or 2 roasts, about 8 to 10 inches long. Now the second potential roast, or that middle section, is perfect to chop into 3/4 to 1 inch-thick pork loin chops, depending on what you plan on cooking. For this recipe, we obviously want those pork loin chops so slice off enough to make your meal and process the remaining pork loin as you wish. The image below is not mine, but hopefully visualizes what I just tried to explain, with my poor butchery terminology.
Once you have your pork loin chops ready, carefully run your knife along one edge towards the other without completely slicing it in half. You are butterflying open your pork loin chop to make it thinner and increase the overall size. I wasn't really thinking and cut mine from the lean edge towards the fat cap, which worked out fine, but for future reference I suggest doing the opposite and cutting from the fat side towards the lean edge leaving a ring of fat on the outside of your loin chops.
Place your butterflied chops onto a sturdy surface and cover with a layer or 2 of plastic wrap. Use either a meat tenderizer mallet or the back of a heavy chef knife and expel all the pent-up rage in your body on those chops, further thinning them down to about a 1/4-inch or so. You can't really overly beat the living hell out the chops so let loose and go to town. You will not only feel a sense of relief afterwards, but also produce a nice, thin cutlet perfect for this recipe!
Now that our rage has been relieved, it is time to set up a dredging station. Using three containers, fill one with AP flour, one with eggs that have been slightly beaten, and the third with Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs. Make sure they are large enough to fit the individual cutlets, but no so large you end up wasting excess dredging ingredients. Go ahead and start heating the oil in your fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit at this point. it should be ready to go by the time we finish dredging our cutlets.
Start by coating a cutlet in the flour then shaking of any excess. Dunk the flour coated cutlet into the eggs, ensuring all sides are covered. Let the excess egg drip off before dropping it into the panko breadcrumbs. Push down and make sure those breadcrumbs really get on both sides of the pork, and don't forget the sides either! I mean, it is dredging, people, so not sure how much explanation is really needed here. The main takeaway is not to skip any parts of this process. The eggs will not stick well to plain pork so you have to coat it in flour first. It isn't necessary, but you can season your pork, or the AP flour, with salt/pepper beforehand. I left mine plain as is and thought the sauce made for the perfect sweet and salty seasoning these cutlets needed, but you do you and season as you wish!
Now that the cutlets have all been coated and your oil is up to temperature, simply drop one or 2 cutlets at a time into the oil and fry for 2-3 minutes per side, about 6 minutes total. Since we pounded them fairly thin, the cooking time is quite quick so watch your cutlets to begin browning and floating to the top of the oil to know when they are fully cooked and done. You can also shallow fry these cutlets in a pan, but just be careful not to overcook or burn your panko. I'll admit I'm not the best at shallow pan frying, but I know some of you all out there can nail it every time so fry your pork cutlets how you see best fit. For anyone wanting to Air Fry these cutlets, be sure to spray them on both sides with nonstick spray to help crisp up the panko and cook them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, flipping and respraying at the halfway point.
When finished cooking, be sure to place your Tonkatsu onto a wire rack to drain any excess oil and cool. This will keep the cutlet super crisp and crunchy like we all desire! Other than cooking them in a couple batches, that wraps up this simple, yet mostly traditional Tonkatsu recipe! To serve it the typical Japanese style, go ahead and slice the cutlet into strips and plate it alongside some shredded cabbage and rice. Drizzle the Tonkatsu Sauce we made earlier over the pork cutlet and enjoy! The thin, crispy coating of this pork keeps it light despite the deep fry cooking method. These pork cutlets are also great served with Japanese-style curry or even on a bun as a sandwich, though that somewhat loses the true meaning of Tonkatsu at that point. No matter how you decide to enjoy your Tonkatsu, get in the kitchen and give it a try. It really is not a difficult recipe to produce so make a batch and let your family decide how often you will be recreating this one.....Just Keep Cooking!
TONKATSU
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