Tonkatsu (トンカツ) is one of the most beloved western style Japanese foods called yōshoku (洋食). It is a pork loin breaded with flour, egg, and Panko (bread crumbs), then deep fried. It’s not the healthiest Japanese food, but it is rather a comfort food which everybody can’t get enough of.
There are a lot of Tonkatsu restaurants in Japan, from small local shops to national chain restaurants. It might be a little hard to find Tonkatsu restaurants outside of Japan since it’s such a specialized store. Good news is, though, making Tonkatsu at home is not hard at all. If you are willing to deal with a large amount of hot oil and to clean up the mess afterward, you’ll be rewarded with a crispy delicious treat. Most of the ingredients in the recipe are easily found at supermarkets.
What is Tonkatsu?
Katsu is a Japanese word for cutlet, and it is a deep fried meat coated with crispy bread crumbs. Tonkatsu means pork cutlet as “Ton” means pork (豚). Chicken Katsu is another popular variation of Katsu.
Ingredients for Tonkatsu
- Pork loin (ロース) is the most commonly used cut of pork for Tonkatsu, but pork fillet katsu (ヒレカツ) is also popular.
- Bread crumbs we use are Japanese style breadcrumbs called Panko. It is medium-size bread crumbs and that makes a perfectly crispy crust for Tonkatsu. It is available at most U.S. supermarkets and online store. Italian bread crumbs are too fine and that doesn’t give the crunch we want. On the other hand, coarser, bigger pieces of bread crumbs like fresh bread crumbs could absorb a bit too much oil and might make Tonkatsu greasy.
- Tonkatsu sauce is an important flavoring for the dish. Although the pork is seasoned well with salt and pepper and good by itself, the sweet and tangy Tonkatsu sauce completes this dish. The sauce is similar in taste to Worcestershire sauce but much thicker and heavier. It is available at Japanese markets or online stores, but if you can’t find it at all, you can make it by mixing 1 part Worcestershire sauce and 2 parts ketchup (at least something similar).
- Other sauces and condiments: Tonkatsu Sauce is pretty much the best condiment for Tonkatsu, but there are other sauces you may want to try. A mixture of freshly ground sesame seeds and Tonkatsu Sauce is a nutty and rich tasting sauce. Another sauce is a more Japanese-style sauce of grated Daikon radish and Ponzu Sauce. This sauce gives the dish a little lighter feel because of the spiciness of fresh Daikon and the sourness of citrus. If you like to experiment with different flavors on Tonkatsu, make a couple of different sauces.
Variations of Tonkatsu
There are a lot of variations of dishes you can make with Tonkatsu.
- Katsudon (Tonkatsu and eggs cooked in seasoned dashi over rice, yummy!)
- Katsu Sandwich (sandwich with Tonkatsu as filling, it’s the best!)
- Kastu Curry (curry and rice topped with Tonkatsu, so good!)
What to serve with Tonkatsu
- Thinly shredded cabbage almost always accompanies Tonkatsu. It is supposed to cut the greasiness of the fried pork, and it complements Tonkatsu very well. A vegetable slicer or a mandoline slicer is a great tool to slice the cabbage thinly.
- Steamed Rice
- Miso Soup
Short Video
A full recipe video is also available in the recipe box below and on our YouTube channel.
This recipe was originally published in December 2012. The post was updated on March 24, 2025 with more useful content, new photos and a short video.
Tonkatsu (deep fried pork)
Ingredients
- 2 pork loin chops (about 1/2" thick, no bones)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup panko or bread crumbs
- oil for deep frying
- Tonkatsu Sauce
Instructions
- Make small cuts all over the pork chops with the tip of a knife. Pound the meat with a meat tenderizer. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the meat.
- Coat the meat with flour, dip in egg, and then cover with bread crumbs.
- Heat deep frying oil to 350 F, and deep fry the crumb-covered meat. You can check the temperature by dropping a bread crumb in the oil. If it comes up to the oil surface right after it's dropped, it's ready.
- Fry until the color turns golden brown and the meat floats in the oil, about 5-8 minutes, turning once or twice.
- Set the meat on a cooling rack for a minute. Cut into 5-6 pieces. Drizzle Tonkatsu Sauce over if you like.
Video
Notes
24 Comments
What brand of Tonkatsu sauce do you like to use? I have seen the bulldog kind in my area and I do like it, but i wonder if there is a better one to use.
Jena,
that’s what we use! I personally think Bulldog is the best, but Kagome is also really good.
Bulldog is the best!
Did this today at my culinary school. The chef loved it. Did my own sauce though heh he does notlet us use premade sauces.
Mason,
glad you and your teacher liked Tonkatsu.
I don’t have a deep fryer, can I just pan fry it?
Adrian,
you could use a frying pan for deep-frying.
Thank you so much! This plus your other recipes really sparked my love for cooking.
My only problem is my siblings always ask me to cook now!
William,
glad you like our recipes! Cook healthy and tasty meal for your whole family!
Thanks for this! I don’t have a fryer but a fry pan with a bit of oil on med-low heat worked great.
Robbie,
glad you liked our Tonkatsu recipe!
Hi Noriko, I have some difficult finding a Tonkatsu Sauce and i’d like to make it from scratch. I know, it’s a lot of work but looking around I found only recipes with ready-made sauces (ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sometimes oyster sauce … yup!) and the answer is: is there a place where i can find the recipe for the sauce without using ready-made ingredients? Thanks in advance.
Flavio,
that’s a recipe hard to find. Sorry we don’t have Tonkatsu sauce recipe…
Thanks, I know, it is like an hard-to-find item … In this case i will take comfort in a big portion of katsudon … 😉
Flavio,
Katsudon is not so bad 🙂
This must be one of the most common foods around the world. I didn’t know that it exists in Japan, but every Western country has its own version. A good trick is to fry it for two-three minutes before putting it in a preheated owen. This way the Tonkatsu will be beautiul dark brown.
Peter,
yes, Tonkatsu is considered western influenced Japanese dish. It must be inspired from some dish from other countries.
Hi there,
First time trying your recipe and the first two pieces of tonkatsu turned out perfect. But after those two, the following pieces, I can’t seen to turn it to golden brown? Not sure what I am doing wrong…any tips?
Thanks
Jenn
The oil isnt hot enough. You should wait a bit before your next piece of pork.
Hi 🙂
Making this tonight- baked chicken style. As I have an allergy to fish, I can’t use worcestershire sauce (anchovies, those little rascals!) But I also made Japanese curry. I won’t really be missing the tonkatsu if I’m smothering my cutlet in curry! However I am curious about the cabbage–finely shredded and raw??
Jessica,
Ooo, Katsu Curry! Yum!
Fresh finely shredded cabbage goes well with Tonkatsu very well.
Hi, thanks for the video. I tried to make Tonkatsu at home. This is the 1st time I make Japanese dish at home. It tastes very good. Will try to cook other Japanese dishes at your website in the future.
Try cooking with the oil around 350 degrees just until the pork is done. Drain on a paper towel and fry quickly at 375 for less than a minute. Golden brown and very crunchy! Bulldog sauce on this for sure!
Thanks for the recipe, it was very easy to follow and very tasty.