Tonkatsu Last Night

Tonkatsu, shredded cabbage and carrot, wakame miso soup, peanut butter beans, plain rice and a couple of umeboshi (pickled plums)

Leave it to the Japanese to clone another country's dish and make it internationally popular. I'm talking about pork schnitzel, a traditional Austrian/Italian dish which the Japanese hijacked and called tonkatsu. Easy to cook and immensely delicious to eat (if oil is not your phobia), tonkatsu is simply thin slices of pork (or chicken, but that would be chicken katsu) breaded and deep-fried until golden. If served on a bowl of rice, it is katsu don. The traditional accompaniment is plain rice, thinly sliced cabbage and some pickles and a miso soup.


If there are leftovers, I keep them for making sandwiches the next day, heating them up in the toaster oven. Tonkatsu sandwiches are very delicious and satisfying.

I usually use pork loin although some people may prefer the shoulder. Pork loin can be tough and dry, but you can overcome that by cutting the meat thinner, about 10 to 12 mm, and break up the fibers by whacking at the meat with a metal (do they come any other way?) mallet. Don't over-mutilate the meat though or the texture will be soft and 'powdery'. You can also use chicken breasts, and if you are lucky enough to live in a country with veal, you can use that too. I like to season the meat lightly with salt, pepper and soy sauce only but if you prefer to make your tonkatsu more flavorful, you can add minced garlic or garlic powder and even fish sauce.

About the panko or breadcrumbs, I am happy with our local Tastie brand which is cheaper and finer. Go Japanese if you must, but be prepared to pay 2-3 times more for plain old dry bread crumbs.

For the best tonkatsu, or anything deep-fried, the secret lies in the temperature of the oil. I don't fall for that oil palm sell and I'm happy with Canola oil. It's still fine even if it's oil from genetically modified rapeseed plants developed by a professor from my university (yeah, go Bisons go!). I test the temperature of the oil by stabbing a pair of wooden chopsticks into it. If the surface of the chopsticks sizzles immediately, the breaded cutlets go in, one after one. If you want make it a Japanese meal, do all the other side dishes first and apportion the individual servings before you fry. This is because it takes less than 2 minutes to cook and you should eat the tonkatsu while it's still hot, or at least warm. You should allow 2 big pieces per person.

For a more western version, add grated parmesan into the breadcrumbs mixture. Serve a tangy salad and some potatoes and that's an awesome meal, to me.


Tonkatsu (about 4 servings)
500 g pork loin (chicken breasts for chicken katsu)
2 t light Kikkoman soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1/16 t white pepper
pinch of sugar (optional)

coating: 2 cups white breadcrumbs (panko), 1 cup corn flour, 1 large egg

1. Slice the pork/chicken breasts into 10 or 12 mm thick slices across the grain. This thickness is perfect for quick cooking and still gives a good bite. Use a mallet to tenderize the meat on both sides.

2. Season the meat with the remaining ingredients.

3. Dip the meat slice by slice into the cornflour to coat lightly, shake off excess flour. Now dip the flour-coated meat into the beaten egg, drip off extra egg and lay onto the plate of breadcrumbs, sprinkling more crumbs over the top. I like to use my left hand to hold the meat when dipping into the egg, then use my right hand to handle the coating. This way, my fingers won't be coated with breadcrumbs. Press the meat on the breadcrumbs to make them stick. Coat both sides.

4. Chill the coated meat for at least 1/2 hour. Good idea to get the side dishes ready now. Make sure you have a pickle (to cut the grease), a miso soup, plain rice and the finely cut cabbage. I use bottled tonkatsu sauce (very tangy) and ponzu sauce which I prefer on the cabbage as a dressing rather than dip for the meat.

5. Heat up 2 cups of veg oil (believe me, palm oil IS saturated oil and that's no good no matter how much carotene or whatever the food scientists the palm oil people pay to tell you) and when your wooden chopsticks sizzles when you dip them into the oil, or a piece of breadcrumb immediately rises to the top of the oil, you can fry the breaded meat. Reduce the heat to medium when the cutlet goes into the oil. It takes about 2 minutes to cook both sides. Fry the meat individually to maintain the heat.

6. Remove the cooked cutlets onto kitchen paper to drain and cut into 2 cm slices and arrange neatly on a plate or over the cabbage.