Pork Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu (Japanese Pork Cutlet) is a breaded, deep fried pork is a favourite dish in Japanese cuisine. This Tonkatsu made by pork chops, All purpose flour, bread crumbs, eggs, cumin, paprika, oil, tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise, pepper and salt. This hunger inducing dish easily catches your attention by not only the tempting smell but the beautifully placed cutlet over rice that’s you cant help. Try out this recipe and make some Pork tonkatsu in less than 15 minutes!

What is Tonkatsu?

Tonkatsu is a deep fried pork cutlet usually served with barbeque sauce with a side of cabbage and rice. It’s a combination of the Japanese words “ton” which means “pork” and “Katsu” a shortened term for “Katsuretsu” derived from the French word “Cotelette” which is “cutlet”. Often eaten before tests or competitions as “katsu” also means, “to win”.

Tonkatsu has deep roots, in 1862-1912 around the Meiji Period, Japanese started to establish itself as a nation, adopting different foods from different cultures expecially in the West. Tonkatsu is a Japanese twist on France’s cotelette de veau, a veal cutlet coated in breadcrumbs deep-fried in butter-greased pan. Rengatei a Western styled Giza restaurant in the 1895 felt that the dish was too oily and overwhelming. To suit Japanese tastes the breadcrumbs were exchanged to soft panko breadcrumbs, coated and cooked in a tempura like fashion, with the veal exchanged for cheaper cuts of pork. Reinvented and renamed into “Pork Cutlet” and debuted in 1899 on Rengatei’s menu. Since then the dish has evolved and changed to a more modern palate, even the side dish of carrots and potatoes that is usually served with the French this has changed to suit the Tonkatsu, finely chopped cabbage, with a bowl of rice, and a side of sauces like demi-glaze sauce or Worcestershire sauce that had a slight tanginess to the porky dish and gave it a cleaner and helps keep the dish feeling like it’s too oily, this suited the Japanese people’s preferences.

A versatile dish eaten as a rice topping, served with cream sauce, topped with curry, or seen in sandwiches. This deep fried dish was founded in a Western restaurant in Ginza, by Motojiro Kida in 1899. The Tonkatsu we know now was more time consuming in that time as it had to be sautéed, grilled and still came out very greasy. But as modernization came, new techniques paved way to frying and other methods to give the Tonkatsu its signature look and taste.

Tonkatsu to more modern dishes today can de seen as ala carte, as a full meal with side dishes and rice, over rice and sometimes with a rich curry sauce poured over, paired with a noodle dish, and even in convenience store sandwiches in Japan.

Can Pork Tonkatsu be done is just a few minutes?

Yes! Tonkatsu can be done in just a few minutes! Just make sure to prepare the ingredients and thaw out the pork chops and your set to go! Tonkatsu is made using simple ingredients like pork chop seasoned with salt and pepper, the breading made with breadcrumbs, flour and seasonings, and eggs as a binder. Once this is fully breaded, the pork cutlet is fried to a golden crispy but still juicy goodness in a medium heated pan for a few minutes on each side. Cooled to warm over a rack to remove excess oil.

Take your time to make and enjoy this nice and easy lunch or a quick but delicious dinner!

Pork Tonkatsu

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Course: MainCuisine: Japanese

Servings

5

servings

An addicting savory flavorful crunchy pork dish!

Ingredients

• 5 pork chops ( 1 – ½ inch thick)

• ½ tablespoon salt

• ½ tablespoon pepper

• 2 cups breadcrumbs

• 2 eggs

• 1 tablespoon water

• ½ cup all purpose flour

• ½ tablespoon cumin

• ½ tablespoon paprika

• 2 – 3 cups oil

• tonkatsu or barbecue sauce (optional)

• mayonnaise (optional)

Directions

• Clean the pork chops. Slightly slice over the fat and meat without going too deep. This help the pork chops stay flat when you fry them. Do this for both sides.
• After slicing, cover the meat with plastic or cling wrap. Carefully pound this with a meat tenderizer till it looks ½ inch bigger. Form this back to shape and season both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• For the breading; prepare 1 bowl of breadcrumbs, in another bowl mix together eggs and water, and a third bowl of all purpose flour, cumin and paprika mixed well.
• Add the pork cutlet in the flour mixture, making sure to remove the excess. Place this on the egg mixture and finally at in the breadcrumb mixture.
• Prepare a pan at medium heat with 2 -3 cups of oil. Drop a breadcrumb in the pan, if this bubbles, the oil is ready to fry, add in the breaded cutlet into the pan, cooking 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Some pork chops may need more time to cook. (please see notes to check how to)
• Once this is cooked, place over a rack or kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
• Slice to bite sized pieces and serve with tonkatsu or barbeque sauce and a side of shredded cabbage.

Recipe Video

Notes

• To check if the pork has fully cooked in the inside without cutting it open. Use a fork or knife to poke the middle of the fried pork. The juice that comes out must be clear. If its still a bit pink then it needs to be fried for a few more minutes.
• What if the pork still comes out pink? Cut the pork cutlet to half and fry these again. Make sure to check after a few seconds to avoid burning the breading.
• You can also use the back of the knife instead of a meat tenderizer.

Tonkatsu (Deep Fried Pork Cutlet) (Tagalog)

Mga Sangkap: 

• 5 pork chops ( 1 – ½ pulgada ng kapal)
• ½ kutsarang asin
• ½ kutsarang paminta
• 2 tasa breadcrumbs
• 2 itlog
• 1 kutsarang tubig
• ½ tasa all purpose flour
• ½ kutsarang cumin
• ½ kutsarang paprika
• 2 – 3 tasa mg mantika
• Tonkatsu Sauce (opsyonal)
• Mayonnaise (opsyonal)

Paano Lutuin:

1. Linisin ang mga pork chops. Bahagyang hiwain sa taba at karne na hindi masyadong malalim. Nakaktulong to maging patag ang pork chops pag na prito ito. Gawin to sa magkabilang pantig.
2. Pagkatapos hiwain, takpan ng plastik, gamit ang meat tenderizer pukpukin hangang lumaki ng ½ pulgada. Ihugis ulit sa dati niyang porma at budburan ng kurot ng asin at paminta magkabilang pantig.
3. Para sa breading; maghanda ng tasa para sa breadcrumbs, 2^ndtasa ng mga itlog at tubig, haluin ng mabuti, at 3^rdtasa pinaghalo ng all purpose flour, cumin, at paprika.
4. Ilagay ang pork cutlet sa tinimpla na harina, alalahanin na tangalin ang sobrang harina bago ilagay sa  may itlog, pagkatapos takpan naman ng breadcrumbs.
5. Maghanda ng kawali na nasa katamtamamng init. Lagyan ito ng 2 – 3 tasa ng mantika. Maghulog ng maliit na pirasa ng breadcrumb, pag bumula ito handa na ang mantika sa pag prito. Ilagay ang pork cutlet at lutuin ang magkabila ng 2 o 3 minuto o mas matagal kung makapal ang pork cutlet. (tingnan ang notes para makito kung paano suriin kung luto na)
6. Pagkatapos iprito, ilugar to sa taas ng rack o kitchen towel para matangal ang natitirang mantika.
7. Hatiin at ihanda na may kasamamng tonkatsu o barbeque sauce at ginutay