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Cherry & Dennis Recipes

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet

日式吉列豬扒

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — finished dish
Total time
50 min
Difficulty
Medium
Servings
4 servings

Recipe overview

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet is Japanese yoshoku: ton means pork and katsu comes from cutlet. A 1.5–2 cm boneless chop is lightly coated in flour, egg and coarse panko, fried in batches at 170–175°C, drained on a rack, rested and sliced. It is not a pork-bun, pork strips, curry cutlet or batter-fried dish.

01

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 700–800 g—1.5–2 cm each, fully thawed in refrigerator; no odour, slime, grey-green colour, abnormal liquid or icy centre; never rinse boneless pork chops,
  • 80 g plain flour, 180 g Japanese panko, 350 g cabbage, 800 g hot rice eggs,

Pork seasoning

  • 3/4 teaspoon, white pepper 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Frying oil

  • 1.5–2 litres, 4–5 cm deep High-heat oil about

Serving sauce

  • 8 tablespoons, Japanese mustard optional Tonkatsu sauce
Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — ingredients

02

Tools

  • Deep pot
  • oil and food thermometers
  • skimmer
  • wire rack/tray
  • meat mallet
  • meat mallet
  • three shallow dishes
  • raw/cooked boards
  • knife
  • oven mitts
  • four plates and rice bowls.
  • bowl
Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — tools

03

Steps

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 1

Step 1

Check thawed pork

Fully thaw in refrigerator; never rinse and separate tools.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 2

Step 2

Blot and score

Blot dry; shallow-score fat-meat joins every 2–3 cm without cutting through.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 3

Step 3

Pound gently

Lightly even thick areas, keeping 1.5–2 cm thickness.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 4

Step 4

Season and set coating

Salt and pepper both sides; set flour, lightly beaten egg and panko.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 5

Step 5

Flour

Coat thinly and shake excess flour off.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 6

Step 6

Egg and panko

Dip egg then gently press panko to adhere.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 7

Step 7

Rest

Rest single-layer 5 minutes; chill if kitchen is hot.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 8

Step 8

Heat oil

Heat deep oil to 170–175°C without smoking.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 9

Step 9

First side

Lower 1–2 chops away from body, fry 2.5–3 minutes.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 10

Step 10

Second side

Fry 2–3 minutes; thickest centre at least 63°C, thoroughly cook high-risk servings.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 11

Step 11

Rack and rest

Drain on wire rack, rest at least 3 minutes.

Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet — step 12

Step 12

Slice and serve

Slice 2 cm on cooked-food board with cabbage, hot rice, sauce and optional mustard.

Common mistakes

  1. Do not skip ingredient checks or doneness checks, and never mix raw and cooked food tools.

Tips

Do not skip ingredient checks or doneness checks, and never mix raw and cooked food tools.

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