Dish · japanese
Tonkatsu
A pork cutlet breaded in panko and deep-fried until the crust turns craggy and golden, sliced into strips and served with a thick, fruity sauce. The panko coating stays crisp longer than fine breadcrumbs would.
Where it comes from
Tonkatsu grew out of the same late 19th and early 20th century yoshoku movement as omurice, when Western cutlet frying met Japanese ingredients. Restaurants in Tokyo are credited with shifting it from a thin fried cutlet toward the thicker, deep-fried version common today.
What cooks argue about
Pork thickness splits cooks: a thick loin fried at lower heat for longer cooks through without drying the crust, while a thinner cut needs higher heat and less time or it overcooks.
Nobody has published a tonkatsu recipe yet. The page stays out of search until one exists, which is the rule for every thin page here.