Pork Katsu
Pork loin cutlets coated in flour, egg and panko and shallow fried for 4 minutes a side, sliced and served with tonkatsu sauce and cabbage.
Photograph credit: Free Japanese pork katsu donburi · CC0 1.0 · Rawpixel
Katsu is a Japanese adaptation of the European cutlet, and the key to it is the panko, the coarse, airy breadcrumbs that fry up lighter and crunchier than ordinary crumbs. The idea came in the late nineteenth century, and a crisp pork cutlet with shredded cabbage has been a staple of Japanese cooking ever since.
Buy boneless pork loin chops about 1.5 cm thick. Make a few small cuts around the edge where the fat meets the meat, which stops the cutlet curling as the fat shrinks. Pound gently with a rolling pin to an even thickness. Season with salt and pepper just before coating.
Press the panko on firmly with the palm of your hand. Use the standard sequence: flour, beaten egg, then panko. Every part of the surface needs to be covered, because any gap becomes a patch of oil-logged meat. Shake off the loose crumbs.
Fry in about 1 cm of oil at 170°C / 340°F, for 4 minutes per side, until a deep golden brown. Rest the cutlets on a rack, then slice into strips and serve over shredded cabbage with a generous spoon of tonkatsu sauce.
The Method for Pork Katsu
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Nick the fat edge of each chop in 3 places. Pound gently to an even 1 cm thickness. Season with the salt and pepper.
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Put the flour, eggs and panko in three separate dishes. Coat each chop in flour, then egg, then press firmly into the panko.
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Heat the oil in a wide frying pan to 170°C / 340°F.
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Fry the cutlets 2 at a time for 4 minutes per side until deep golden and cooked through. Drain on a rack.
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Slice into strips, serve on the shredded cabbage and spoon over the tonkatsu sauce. Add the lemon wedges.
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A Few Pointers
- Press the panko on firmly.
- Keep the oil at 170°C / 340°F for a golden, not greasy, crust.
- Drain on a rack to keep the crust crisp.
Changing the Recipe
- Panko gives the crunchiest crust here, but ordinary dried breadcrumbs will still fry crisp if that's what's in the cupboard.
What to Serve With It
Steamed rice · Miso soup · Shredded cabbage · Pickled ginger
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Gomae, Nasu Dengaku, Sunomono.
Leftovers and Storage
Best eaten at once. Reheat in a hot oven for 8 minutes.
Pork Katsu Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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