Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish consisting of a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet. Boneless pork chops are breaded with panko crumbs, then shallow fried until golden and crispy. The Bull Dog Sauce (Katsu) is easy to make and a delicious sauce to dip each forkful of pork into. The crispy cabbage and cooked rice makes a lovely Japanese dinner at home.
I think of Tonkatsu as “Japanese Schnitzel“. The crunchy of crispy and golden panko crumbs, and juicy pork always satisfies our dinners. I’ve made a few versions of schnitzel and that’s how I found this recipe the America’s Test Kitchen Website (paid subscription). I was looking for inspiration on what to make with the boneless pork chops that I had thawed. Let’s do this!
The first thing to do (not photographed) was to thinly slice green cabbage, wash and place it in a spinner basket . Add ice on the bottom of the bowl, then water. Set the cabbage on top to chill and firm the cabbage. Done!
The Bull Dog Sauce (also America’s Test Kitchen) is really easy to make and definitely worth it! This is a homemade Katsu sauce– a traditional Tonkatsu dipping sauce. You can even make the sauce up to 3 days before:
Fortunately, all of the ingredients are pantry staples in our house: Molasses, Worcestershire Sauce, Ketchup, garlic powder salt and a pinch of cloves. Simmer and cook until slightly thickened. Allow to cool.
For the pork chops, place a 1/4 inch slit with a paring knife. The purpose is to prevent the chops from “buckling” when cooking. Season with salt. Dredge the chops with flour, then egg and panko crumbs.
A cast-iron skillet is ideal for shallow frying the pork chops. You’ll want the vegetable oil to reach 340F, so an instant read thermometer is an essential tool. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side.
A half sheet baking pan and baking grid, with a loaf pan, makes an efficient set up to rest the pork chops and to keep the coating nice and crispy.
These are 100% perfect, if I do say so myself!
Here is the dinner, all put together. Sticky short-grain brown rice. Crispy and cold cabbage. Bull Dog (aka katsu sauce) and the pork tonkatsu. Lemon wedges are a perfect garnish (I skipped the soy sauce.)
TASTING NOTES: Perfection! Panko crumbs are one of my favorite coatings or toppings. They cook to a perfect crispy and golden brown. The sauce was superb– a little tangy, savory with a little spice. Once again, America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Illustrated) has created a recipe for this Japanese recipe that is user-friendly and absolutely delicious! When I was writing the recipe card, I realized that I used quite a few tools and pans. In the end, dinner was ready in under an hour. I’d happily make this again!
This recipe is for two, but can easily be doubled.
Tonkatsu (Japanese Fried Pork Chops)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup green cabbage shredded
For the breading:
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 1¾ cups panko bread crumbs
For the pork:
- 2 6-ounce boneless pork chops ¾ inch thick
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil for frying
Side Dish:
- 2 cups Jasmine Rice cooked
Garnish:
- Lemon wedges
- Soy sauce
- Prepared wasabi paste or Japanese mustard
Bull Dog Sauce (Optional)
- ⅓ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup molasses Do not use blackstrap molasses here, as it is too bitter.
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- pinch ground cloves
Instructions
For the cabbage:
- Place cabbage in salad spinner basket.
- Add single layer of ice cubes to salad spinner bowl. Set basket on top of ice and add cold water to cover cabbage. Let sit until cabbage is cold and crisp, 10 minutes. Drain cabbage and spin until very dry. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (Cabbage can be prepared up to 3 hours in advance.)
For the pork:
- Place flour in medium bowl. Beat eggs in second medium bowl until no streaks remain. Spread panko in even layer over 1 half of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Invert loaf pan onto center of rack.
- Place pork chops on cutting board.
- Working with 1 chop at a time, and starting at 1 end of chop, insert paring knife at 45-degree angle through fat cap to create ¼-inch slit, pushing knife through until you reach cutting board (do not cut from edge to edge). Repeat around perimeter of fat cap, spacing slits ¾ inch apart.
- Sprinkle chops all over with salt.
- Dredge chops thoroughly in flour, shaking off excess and returning to cutting board. Use your hand to dip 1 chop in egg and allow excess to drip back into bowl to ensure very thin coating. Place chop on top of panko and, using your other hand, cover pork with crumbs, pressing firmly so crumbs stick to all sides. Return to cutting board. Repeat with remaining chop, tilting dish to rearrange panko on 1 side before coating.
Cook the pork chops:
- Heat oil in 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat to 340 degrees (to take temperature, tilt skillet slightly so oil collects on 1 side).
- Place chops in skillet and cook, using tongs to lift 1 edge of each chop occasionally to allow steam to escape, until deep golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
- Transfer chops to prepared rack, leaning them against loaf pan. Let rest for 5 minutes.
Serve your meal:
- Divide cabbage evenly among 2 serving plates and portion rice into 2 bowls.
- Slice chops crosswise ½ inch thick and transfer to plates.
- Serve with lemon wedges, soy sauce, and wasabi or with Bull Dog Sauce.
Bull Dog Sauce:
- Whisk all ingredients in small saucepan until no lumps remain. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely before using. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.)
Notes
Nutrition
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