Crispy Tonkatsu Recipe (Japanese Pork Cutlet)

Name: Crispy Tonkatsu Recipe (Japanese Pork Cutlet)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 1/4 lb pork loin (3/8-1/2 inch thick slices); salt and pepper (to season); flour (to coat); 2 eggs; 2 cup panko; water spray; oil (for deep-frying); 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 2 tbsp ketchup; 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1/2 tsp dry mustard; 1/2 tsp onion powder

posted by Holly Ford on Sep 30, 2010 (updated May 12, 2022) 14 comments »

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This tonkatsu recipe makes extra crispy Japanese pork cutlet. Lean pork loin is coated with lightly moistened panko breadcrumbs and double deep fried to perfection. Don’t miss out the quick homemade tonkatsu sauce to completes the dish.

Crispy tonkatsu is served with homemade tonkatsu sauce and crisp cabbage

This Western-inspired Japanese pork cutlet dish, called tonkatsu, is one of our household favorites.

My kids love tonkatsu and I’ve been making this crispy and crunchy pork with savory tonkatsu sauce as long as I can remember.

You will easily find this pork cutlet on the menu at Japanese restaurants. It is also a common item for bento (Japanese boxed lunch) and a popular base ingredient for a Japanese pork rice bowl dish called Katsu donburi or Katsudon.

What is Tonkatsu?

Ton (豚) = pork
Katsu (カツ)= cutlet (Katsu is an abbreviation of Katsuretu, カツレツ)

Tonkatsu is a Japanese version of European pan-fried meat, similar to a British cutlet (where the name came after), German schnitzel, or Italian piccata.

The Japanese pork cutlet version uses lean pork loin. Slices of pork are first pounded (to tenderize), then breaded with flour, egg, and Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs). Then, it is deep-fried in oil instead of pan-fried.

Tonkatsu must be accompanied by the savory tonkatsu sauce (either homemade or store-bought), along with a bed of shredded green cabbage, and of course steamed rice. The sauce is a Worcestershire sauce base with ketchup and other flavoring added. It has a thick consistency and is great for drizzling or dipping.

Tips for Making Perfect Tonkatsu

Pork: Use lean pork loin, about 1/2-inch thickness.

Pounding: Pounding helps tenderize the pork and stretch it out to a thin layer.

Panko crumbs: Moistened panko crumbs makes a crispier coating. Spray panko with water several times to moisten the crumbs, but not overly. Do not use western-style fine breadcrumbs.

Deep-frying: Double deep-frying makes the cutlet more crispy and ensures thorough cooking. Use enough oil to cover the cutlet so that it fries evenly.

Clean the oil in between batches: It’s important to remove the breadcrumb particles to keep the oil clean, so the oil does not turn dark and disrupt the results of the coating. Skim off the fried crumbs between batches with a fine-mesh strainer.

Shredded green cabbage: Soak them in cold water (or ice water) for 10 minutes. Soaking makes the cabbage come alive and really crisps up the texture.

Tonkatsu sauce: You can’t have tonkatsu without the savory tonkatsu sauce. Making homemade tonkatsu sauce is super easy with just a few ingredients. All you need is to mix them together. I recommend adding crushed toasted sesame seeds. It adds a toasty nutty flavor to the sauce.

crispy pork culet is sliced and served with homemade tonkatsu sauce

How to make Japanese Pork Cutlet at Home

Ingredients you will need:

For cutlet:

pork loin (1/2-inch thick)
salt and pepper
flour
egg
panko
oil for deep- frying ( I use peanut oil)

For quick homemade tonkatsu sauce:

ketchup
worcestershire sauce
soy sauce
brown sugar
dry mustard
onion powder
toasted sesame seeds – crushed

Toasted sesame seeds are crushed in a Japanese mortar and pestle.

Tonkatsu sauce ingredients are combined in a small bowl.

Step 1: Make homemade tonkatsu sauce

Grind toasted sesame seeds roughly in a Japanese mortar and pestle. Do not grind them too fine. You will want to leave some unground.
In a small mixing bowl, combine all the tonkatsu sauce ingredients and add a desired amount of ground sesame seeds; mix well and set aside. You can also add more sesame seeds just before you serve.

kitchen scissors are clipping the edges of pork loin slices.

Thin pork loin slices are covered with plastic and pounded with a meat hammer.

Step 2: Pound the pork.

Place pork on a working surface. Using a pair of scissor, make several slits on the connective tissue (white area) between the meat and fat. This will help prevent the pork from curling up during deep-frying.
Cover the pork with a piece of plastic wrap and pound both sides with meat hammer. (You can also use a rolling pin). The pork should become thinner and stretched out.

Pounded pork loin slices are seasoned with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Season the pork.

Season pounded pork pieces with salt and pepper lightly on both sides.

Panko breadcrumbs are moistened with water spray.

Pork slices coated with flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs are stacked in a plate.

Step 4: Breading

Prepare breading, flour, egg, and panko. Spray panko with water a few times to moisten. Bread the pork slices with flour lightly, then coat with egg.
Cover the pork in panko by pressing the panko down gently on the meat. Remove excess panko. Set the pork aside for 5-10 minutes.

Make ahead tip: You can prepare the breading step ahead of time and keep the breaded pork in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.

Breaded pork loin pieces are entering the hot deep-frying oil in a skillet.

Kitchen tongs are picking up golden deep fried pork tonkatsu piece from the bubbling oil.

Step 5: First deep fry

Heat a batch of oil in your pot or pan to reach to 330ºF (170ºC) over medium heat. You can also test by dropping one piece of panko into the oil: if it sinks down but immediately comes right up and bubbly, then the oil is ready.
Deep fry once slice of pork at a time so that you don’t drastically lower the oil temperature. Gently put one pork cutlet into the oil and cook – without flipping it – for 1-2 minutes. Then, turn the pork to the other side and deep-fry another 1-2 minute (again without flipping it). The coating should be lightly golden.
Using tongs, take the pork out and remove excess oil by holding the cutlet vertically and slightly shaking it off. Place on a wire rack or paper towel and let it sit until the rest of the batch is deep-fried.

A fine mesh strainer is skimming off the floating fried crumbs in between deep-frying.

Step 6: Remove any floating crumbs in between batches.

Make sure to scoop up any floating fried crumbs from the oil with a fine mesh strainer in between batches. You can lower the heat while doing this.
It’s very important to keep the oil clean so the oil does not get darker with burnt crumbs. Return the heat to medium and bring the oil back to 330ºF (160ºC).

Pork tonkatsu pice is deep frying into golden brown in a hot bubblling oil.

Kitchen tongs are picking up deep fried crispy golden brown tonkatsu piece from the oil in a pan.

Step 7: Second deep-fry

Prepare for the second deep-frying. Raise the oil temperature to 350˚F (175˚C). Fry the pork again for 1-2 minutes on both sides until deep golden brown. If the coating darkens too quickly, reduce the heat slightly.

Serving suggestion

Slice tonkatsu into wide strips. Serve immediately with homemade tonkatsu sauce, crisped shredded green cabbage, and rice.

Drizzle tonkatsu sauce directly over the cutlet, or dip the cutlet pieces into the sauce. You can also drizzle the sauce over the cabbage and serve together.

More Japanese Recipes

If you love Japanese dishes, Here are a few of my favorites that I recommend you to try:

Sliced Tonkatsu that are topped with sauce and shredded cabbage slices are showing the moist meat inside.

This recipe was originally posted in September 2010. I’ve updated the recipe with a few changes, new photos, and more information.