Tonkatsu
Categories: Pork, Main Dishes, Japanese and Japanese American Recipes
I have a confession: this past weekend, when I should have been tinkering in the kitchen in preparation for this post, I was, well, diverted. Summer arrived and the beer garden called. And once you're in that sun-dappled Astoria yard, sipping mugs of Staropramen under a rustling leafy canopy, it's really, really, hard to leave. Especially if—like most New Yorkers—you don't have an outdoor space to call your own.
So this week, I'm dipping once again into the childhood recipe files. Luckily for you, my mom is a pretty good cook. And let's face it: what's not to like about tonkatsu? It's pork. It's breaded. It's fried. And it's served on a bed of nice, crunchy cabbage. Like tempura, this dish has western roots (schnitzel, anyone?) but has become identifiably Japanese over the years—in no small part due to the flaky panko bread crumbs and their distinctive crunch.
Recently, my mom has taken to using chicken breasts, but I prefer juicier pork. Serve this with lemon wedges, hot mustard (like Coleman's), Japanese rice, and tonkatsu sauce (I like the bottled kind because that's what I grew up on, but you may also want to give homemade a try).
TONKATSU
4 boneless pork chops, pounded thin
3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten with a tablespoon of water
Approximately 2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon wedges, hot mustard, and tonkatsu sauce for serving
Soak cabbage in cold water and dry in a salad spinner. Season pork chops with salt and pepper to taste. Coat both sides with 1.) flour 2.) egg and 3.) panko. Fry pork in about 1/2 inch of hot oil until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels, slice, and arrange on a platter with cabbage.
Category: Main Dishes, Japanese and Japanese American Recipes, Pork
Technorati Tags: tonkatsu, pork, japanese food, cooking, recipes
Sarah, my husband keeps saying that he doesn't like Japanese food - I think his opinion is about to change! He's gonna love this!
Does anyone do this recipe with chicken thighs? I've always meant to give it a try.
Oh dear... I have a feeling that there's no avoiding making this, now that I know how simple it is. Tonkatsu is one of my favorite dishes. And then we can make katsu-sando with good Acme pain de mie!
Hi Patricia--Japanese food has much more variety than a lot of people realize--I'd wager there are lots of other things your husband would like too!
Hi Corgi--you could certainly give boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (available through FreshDirect) a try. Thighs do take longer to cook, though, and even pounded, I think they'd be less even than breasts or pork chops, so it may be a challenge to cook the meat through without burning the crust. But that's only speculation--I've never tried it myself. Just be sure to "unroll" the thighs and try to get them to a fairly uniform thickness.
Hi Anita--I was just thinking I should have made a couple extra cutlets for sandwiches! But alas, we polished them off last night.
*tears* I love tonkatsu. I always feel silly ordering it because I was sure it isn't traditional Japanese but damn it is delicious. And SERIOUSLY, "what's not to like- it's breaded and deep fried" !!! Ahhhh. YUM!!! As always, a delicious picture to accompany... and make me think my sandwich today might not cut it ;p
Oh, hey - you might know the answer to this, is the Bulldog brand tonkatsu sauce that is marked "semi-sweet" more or less sweet than the regular? This may sound like a dumb question, but if you think about demi-sec in champagnes, the answer ain't always obvious.
Hi Yvo--Despite its western roots, I think tonkatsu is authentic, if by that you mean eaten by Japanese people. Anyway, I think deliciousness is much more important than authenticity anyway.
Hi Corgi--I had no idea Bulldog sells different sweetness levels of tonkatsu sauce, but after reading your comment, I went to look at the two bottles in my kitchen and saw that indeed, one is labeled semi-sweet and the other just "tonkatsu sauce." I gave both a try and had a really tough time telling them apart. It could be that one was refrigerated and the other was in the pantry, but they tasted the same to me. So I don't have the answer to your question.