This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for details. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you’re like me who loves deep-fried foods, precisely panko coated crispy foods, you will love Japanese pork cutlet called Tonkatsu (豚カツ). And I’m here to help you make the best possible Tonkatsu (ever!) in your own kitchen!
What is Tonkatsu?
For those of you who are new to this dish, Tonkatsu is a Japanese food that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. Pork loin (ロース rōsu) or fillet (ヒレ hire) are typically used for this dish. The word Ton (豚) comes from “pork” and Katsu (カツ) is an abbreviation of Katsuretu (カツレツ) derived from the English word “cutlet”.
While researching for this post, I found out that Katsuretu was usually made with beef! What a surprise. The dish was originally considered a type of Yoshoku (Japanese western meal) back in early the 20th century. The pork version was introduced in 1899 at a restaurant called Rengatei (煉瓦亭) in Ginza, Tokyo.
What’s the difference between Japanese pork cutlets from other versions you might ask? The biggest difference is that Tonkatsu is breaded with panko (パン粉), a Japanese style breadcrumb made from white bread without crusts. The crisp and crunchy panko flakes are larger than breadcrumbs and give it a light and airy texture. Since it absorbs less oil than breadcrumbs, it turns crispy after being fried.
Another difference is that Tonkatsu is always deep-fried (or you can use a little bit of oil and shallow fry) instead of “pan-fried” with some oil.
If you’re worried about eating deep-fried foods, I have two pieces of advice for you. Don’t eat it often, but when you eat it, enjoy it to the fullest! And eat lots of vegetables with deep-fried food. My mom often says we need to eat the double amount of vegetables compared to meat for a meal. Tonkatsu and other Japanese panko-breaded deep-fried foods are almost always served with a mountain of raw shredded cabbage.
3 Tips to Make Best Tonkatsu at Home
Tonkatsu is actually one of the quickest and simplest meals you can make at home. You just need to know a few tricks to make the perfect Tonkatsu, juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Tip #1: Moisten Panko
This is a trick I learned a while ago. In Japan, we can purchase a type of panko called Nama Panko (生パン粉). It’s basically panko that’s not crusty but moister just like how we shred the white fluffy parts of bread. To re-create the same panko, we “spray” some water (not pour!) to moisten the panko first.
Tip #2: Pound pound pound
Getting really good ingredients for a recipe that only requires a few ingredients is very important. For this recipe, you can also improve the meat texture by pounding it first, making it extra tender. If you don’t own a meat pounder, just use a back of your knife to pound. That’s what I did in college days.
Tip #3: Double Fry
Finally, the key to great Tonkatsu is to double fry the pork. You deep fry once and let the pork sit for a bit to cook inside with remaining heat, and then deep fry again to get the ultimate crispiness.
How to Dispose of the Cooking Oil
If one of the reasons you don’t like deep-frying is dealing with used cooking oil, I have a few solutions.
First of all, NEVER pour it down the sink. It’s not environmentally friendly and it will solidify and cause blockage in the pipes.
The easy and quick solution is to buy the oil solidifying powder (waste oil hardener) at Japanese grocery stores, Asian grocery stores, or Amazon. The powder allows you to dispose of the used oil easily in the trash.
If you can’t get those, then pour the cooled oil into an empty milk carton and toss it in the trash.
But be sure to check out and follow your local trash disposal and recycling procedures before disposing of the cooking oil.
The Last Option: Baked Tonkatsu
For those of you who still prefer a lighter version of Tonkatsu and don’t want to deep fry in your kitchen, you can check out my Baked Tonkatsu recipe. It’s wildly popular and JOC fans simply love it!
I hope you enjoy making this Tonkatsu recipe! If you try it, don’t forget to share your picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #JustOneCookbook. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
- 2 boneless pork loin chops (½ inch thick)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell)
- ½ Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- ½ cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) (30 g; or fresh panko if you can find it)
- 3 cups neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (720 ml; for deep frying)
- Tonkatsu Sauce (See Notes for homemade recipe)
- For Tonkatsu, I highly recommend to use fresh panko (we call it "Nama Panko"). It's fresh bread crumbs not dried one. You can use food processor to make fresh panko from white bread (use only soft part of bread). Or you can spray regular panko with water and leave for 15 minutes. Also, when you select panko, look for packages with bigger crumbs as they are suitable for Tonkatsu.
- Remove the extra fat and make a couple of slits on the connective tissue between the meat and fat. The reason why you do this is that red meat and fat have different elasticity, and when they are cooked they will shrink and expand at different rates. This will allow Tonkatsu to stay nice and flat when deep frying and prevent it from curling up.
- Pound the meat with a meat pounder, or if you don’t have one then just use the back of knife to pound. When using knife, crisscross by first pounding top to bottom then left to right.
- Mold the extended meat back into original shape with your hands.
- Season the meat with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl or plate, add ½ Tbsp. of oil for each egg you use and whisk them up. By adding oil, the meat and breaded coating won’t detach from each other while deep frying.
- Dredge in flour and remove excess flour.
- Dip in egg mixture.
- Dredge in panko. After removing excess panko, press gently. While deep frying panko will “pop up” so at this moment they don’t have to be fluffy.
- Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat and wait till oil gets 350F (180C). If you don’t have a thermometer, stick a chopstick in the oil and see if tiny bubbles start to appear around the tip of the chopstick. Alternatively, you can drop one piece of panko into the oil, and if it sinks down to the middle of oil and comes right up, then that’s around 350F (180C) as well. When the oil reaches to that temperature, gently lower Tonkatsu into the oil. Keep watching the oil’s temperature and make sure it doesn’t go over 350F (180C) or else it’ll look burnt.
- Deep fry for 1 minute on one side and flip to cook the other side for 1 minute. If your pork chop is thinner than ¾ inch, then reduce to 45 seconds for each side.
- Now take the Tonkatsu out and get rid of the oil by holding Tonkatsu vertically for a few seconds. Place on top of wire rack (if wire rack is not available, substitute with paper towel) and let it sit for 4 minutes. The hot oil on exterior is slowly cooking the meat as it sits. Please do not cut to check whether the inside is cooked or not. We need to keep it closed to retain the heat. While waiting, you can scoop up fried crumbs in the oil with mesh strainer.
- After resting for 4 minutes, bring the oil back to 350F (180C) of oil again and deep fry Tonkatsu for 1 minute (about 30 seconds each side).
- Poke the meat with a chopstick and if clear liquid comes out then it’s done. Drain the oil by holding the Tonkatsu vertically again for a few seconds. Then leave it on top of rack/paper towel for 2 minutes. If you have to use paper towel, try to keep Tonkatsu in a vertical position so it does not get soggy on one side.
- Cut Tonkatsu into 3 large pieces (see below) by pressing the knife directly down instead of moving back and forth. This way the breading will not come off. Then cut again in between. Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.
-
You can store the leftover in an airtight container and freeze up to a month. To reheat, put the defrosted or frozen tonkatsu on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Bake at 350 ºF (180 ºC) for 15-20 minutes for defrosted ones or 30-40 minutes for frozen ones. Check if the inside is warm before serving.
Tonkatsu Sauce: Homemade recipe, click here.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
So silly question, I like the crispy-ness of panko but find that there is not a lot of flavor in the breading. Is it the brand or are they normally bland? Is there a trick to give it more flavor?
Hi Justin! Yeah we don’t really expect to taste flavor from panko (but more expensive panko (coming from good quality bread) tends to taste better) as we always put tonkatsu sauce. I live outside of Japan now and it’s very hard to find good quality panko… Hope this helps. If you don’t put tonkatsu sauce, you can always add herbs and garlic etc. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I tried making this and somehow they turned out… um… undercooked and mostly white. I followed the directions as close as possible; I assume my problem was the oil probably dropped below 350. I more paranoid of it being burnt and ended on the opposite spectrum… lol
However, I don’t have or even know of a thermometer that you can clip to a wok that would be able to monitor its temperature the entire time; do you have to just hold it, or, is there a thermometer out there that clips onto woks? Alternatively, what’s your method at keeping the temperature stable? Thanks!
Hi Dorothy! Thank you for trying this recipe! Deep frying needs practice, so I hope you don’t give up. 🙂
From what you wrote, it sounds like the oil temperature wasn’t there. While deep frying, you should see the active bubbling going on around the pork like you see in Step 9 and 10. I also worry about outer layer of tonkatsu get burnt / cooked too fast too. So the temperature is really the key for deep frying. If you use the chopstick (or if you have wooden chopstick), you can check the temperature by putting it in the oil. Or drop panko in it to see how it acts in the oil.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to/how-to-deep-fry-food/
But if you’re not too sure, the thermometer would help. There’s one that has a clip:
http://www.amazon.com/MasterBuilt-23102009-Butterball-Stainless-Thermometer/dp/B002SG6HRY/ref=sr_1_15?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1414604132&sr=1-15&keywords=oil+thermometer+digital
But this never worked on my pot, so I used to stick that in to the oil when I need to check (but be careful with your hands).
Now I use a Japanese deep fryer that comes with a thermometer (can’t find the same model on Amazon…).
You don’t need to hold on to the thermometer all the time, but when you’re not sure it’s good to have a thermometer. When you deep fry several times, you kind of understand the look of oil if it’s good temperature or not. The oil definitely needs to actively bubbling, and the food should stay up instead of being sunk. When the oil is not hot enough, the food absorbs the oil too much. When the deep fried food is fried perfectly, the food absorbed least oil (it’s kind of hard to explain in English…sorry…).
Also, is your stove gas or electric? Gas is very easy to control the temperature. When the oil is “getting” too hot, you need to start turn down the heat (it’ll take time for oil to reduce the temperature, so you have to plan ahead to reduce the heat). OR you can add more food so the oil temperature will go down. This is all from experience when to add food and when to turn down/up the heat.
One last thing. Do not put too much food in the oil. It’s very hard to control the temperature. Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask me if you have any question. 🙂
Nami,
I must attain delicious perfected tonkatsu, so I do intend to try again. (That said, it was still actually pretty good, haha)
I think I’ll try out the chopstick method first, and if it’s no good I’ll order the fancy deep fry thermometer (or just try holding one I have… haha). I did actually see this when I first read it, but, I wasn’t sure if you could still use those methods during cooking so I wanted to double check. Yeah, hopefully I’ll get the hang of how it should look after doing it enough times, haha. No worries; I know what you mean about not wanting the food to absorb too much of the oil.
My stove is gas, so I’ll keep that in mind, as well as not putting too much in the pan. Thanks for all the tips! 🙂
Hi Dorothy! Thank you for your response! Try the wood chopstick trick. It should show lots of small bubbles. You don’t have to check the temperature with chopsticks when the food is in it… as food is the indicator. If it doesn’t give lots of bubbles, the temp is a little too low. Glad to hear your stove is gas! I had a hard time adjusting oil temperature with electric stove in my previous house! 🙂
p.s. I’m not sure if you have seen, but you can also try “Baked” Tonkatsu recipe too. It’s easy, and very close to deep fried version. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/baked-tonkatsu/
Good luck, Dorothy! 🙂
This is fantastic. I tried four different ways of cooking tonkatsu today, after deciding to make it for the family tonight. Most of the recipes I have seen had cooking times far too long, but even after adjusting for that the breadcrumbs were crisping up too quickly. They looked beautiful after a minute, but pretty ropey after five or six. The tweaks you have suggested here — not just the double-fry, but the sprinkling of water on the breadcrumbs — made all the difference in the world. I was starting to think that my rather thin pork chops could never achieve the moistness I desired, but not so. Great work!
Hi Matthew! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! In Japan we have several kinds of panko including “nama panko” (very soft and fresh breadcrumbs, not dried ones we normally use). It tastes so good!! Since we don’t have those, spraying water helps it fluff up a bit. 🙂 I’m glad you like the method! Your kind comment and feedback made my day! Thank you! 🙂
Love your site and I believe you are from the Bay Area as well. I frequent Japan every 2-3 months and love it there. So much so, I’ll be relocating there in January. However, prior to that, I purchased a Konro for grilling yakitori, etc. A great Tonkatsu restaurant is imakatsu in Roppongi. Also, how do you regulate your oil temperature? It’s quite difficult on a stovetop?
Hi Spencer! Thank you so much for reading my blog! Yes, I’m from the Bay Area (peninsula). 🙂 That’s so wonderful that you will be relocating! It’s always my dream to live in Japan for at least a few years… 🙂
Regarding how to control the oil – thermometer will help to make sure what temp the oil is at, but I kind of knows by how the food is being fried… I had difficult time to control the temp when I had an electric stove top. I had to remove the pot from the heat etc, but with gas, it’s much easier and I can control better. Always need to think ahead – like when you are about to put food inside the oil, I usually increase the heat to maintain the temp, and when the oil looks getting hot, I reduce a bit… etc etc… Hope I’m answering your question…?! Sorry I wasn’t….
Nami-chan,
I have a question. For the shredded cabbage to go with tonkatsu, how do you make it taste crisp and juicy? Mine isn’t crispy.
Thank you,
Judy
Hi Judy! First of all, the quality of ingredients do matter. I think that’s the one and only key point to get good shredded cabbage. The cutting/slicing the cabbage helps too as you want to cut the right angle, but without having good cabbage the salad won’t taste good. When I make shredded cabbage, I pick organic one (tastes VERY different!) and make sure they look fresh not staying at the store for a long time… as we don’t mix with other ingredients, the cabbage must taste good. I’m sorry I can’t give you any other advice besides the quality is the key…
Oh, and make sure to use a very sharp knife! 🙂
Hello,
I made this for two people tonight with this recipe and it turned out wonderfully! I so appreciate your directions in the recipe, thank you. I was a bit unsure about deep frying without a thermometer, but using the chop stick indicator worked for me. I sprayed the Panko with water and waited 15 minutes and in the end I was very happy with how the breading turned out. I agree with you about it being easier to control the oil temp while using a gas cooktop, that made me feel a lot more in control while deep frying in a wok, compared to when using an induction cooktop. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Hi David! Awww I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback! Glad my tips were helpful. 🙂
Hello,
Your explanations and the methods are very clear, you do a fantastic service for the people to achieve real Japanese taste.
Hi Lalani! Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog and recipe! 🙂
Please tell me, what is that fluffy white shred in the back of the plate? It looks delightful. Do you have a recipe for it? Please share if you do. Thank you for this beautiful recipe.
Hi J’Marinde! It’s actually thinly shredded cabbage. 🙂 We usually serve deep fried foods with shredded cabbage. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
Hi;
Thank you for your quick reply about the cabbage. Is it raw? Do you buy the angel hair cabbage in the market or do you make your own? It looks so delightful. I must try this! Can you give me a hint on how to achiever it? Thank you.
Hi J’Marinde! It’s raw – just shred very very thinly.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%99%E3%83%84%E3%81%AE%E5%8D%83%E5%88%87%E3%82%8A&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjfwbfp5MbKAhVFyWMKHdqQDl0Q_AUIBygB&biw=1604&bih=830
We cut regular cabbage very thinly. Good sharp knife helps!
Found a YouTube video…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI3XRVdNQ30
Hope this helps!
yummy now i’m hungry
Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
Clicking on Baked Tonkatsu Recipe sends you to the recipe for Crispy Tonkatsu Donburi instead of the baked tonkatsu 🙁
Hi Andy! Thank you for letting me now. It’s been fixed. 🙂
Hi Nami!
Thanks a lot for your great recipes! They always turn out delicious!
What kind of sauce do you make for the shredded cabbage?
Hi Sarina! I like soy sauce base dressing like this or sesame dressing. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/wafu-dressing-japanese-salad-dressing/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/sesame-dressing/
At Tonkatsu restaurants, they offer Yuzu Dressing or Sesame Dressing, and they are pretty common. 🙂
Best tips for great tonkatsu…the oil added to the egg, the moistening of panko crumbs first…the best! Thankyou so much for sharing!
Hi Claudia! You’re very welcome. I hope you enjoy my Tonkatsu recipe! 🙂
Oh my god, this is the BEST and simplest tonkatsu recipe I’ve ever tried. It turned our super crispy in the outside and super tender on the inside and it took me half the time I normally take. I had never tried mixing oil with the egg either. Thank you for sharing your wonderful knowledge and creations!!
Hi Yuko! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
how the heck do i get the cabbage rly thin?
I hand cut for this recipe back then but now I own this cabbage slicer (see under “Japanese Cooking” section). This is amazing. Cabbage is super thin threads and taste so good and fluffy!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/shop/
Love this recipe but what is the sauce that’s served w/yakatori?
Thank you! No, Tonkatsu is served with Tonkatsu Sauce (base is Worcestershire sauce).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how_to/tonkatsu-sauce-recipe/
Yakitori is served with Yakitori Sauce (base is soy sauce).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/yakitori/
Hi Nami! I love your website! I was wondering if you have heard of black pepper tonkatsu. I guess it was served at Kimikatsu in Waikiki but it’s now closed. People have raved over it and I wondered if you know a recipe for it.
Thank you!
Hi Yuko! Thank you so much!! Black pepper tonkatsu (黒胡椒とんかつ)… I know some tonkatsu restaurant serves rolled up katsu with black pepper (Shinjuku Saboten). I just googled and saw the picture of Kimukatsu. Yeah it’s similar. I don’t have the recipe for it, but they use the thin sliced pork loin instead of one big chunk of pork loin. You should sprinkle black pepper in between layers. 🙂 Maybe I’ll share this type of katsu one day!
Hello!
First, thank you for posting so many great Japanese recipes all in one place! Whenever I am looking for a recipe, I come here first and you almost always have it.
I am hoping to make katsu soon, but when I was in Japan, the katsu-ya had a sauce that they would serve with the cabbage. It seemed like it had lemon in it or had a lemony flavor at least. It was a clear or yellow-colored sauce that’s difference from the tonkatsu sauce. I was wondering if you know what the sauce is or if you have a recipe for it?
Have a nice day!
Nykoel
Hi Nykoel! Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad my blog is helpful. 🙂
It seems like it’s Yuzu dressing? It’s pretty popular. The problem is… fresh yuzu or yuzu products can be hard to find.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/yuzu/
If you can find yuzu extract/juice, you can make the dressing at home. I’ll add yuzu dressing on my list. 🙂
Thank you. Easy tonkatsu recipe to follow came out delicious.
Hi Misato! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
So crispy! SOOOOO delish! Thank you for sharing your method of cooking up the best Tonkatsu ever. Just tried this for my husband’s birthday dinner. On the side shredded fresh cabbage, Bulldog sauce, spicy yellow mustard, miso soup with tofu. and steamed rice, of course. YUMMMMM!!! 🙂
Hi Linda! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Happy Birthday to your husband! He’s really lucky you made delicious homemade food for his birthday! 🙂
Outstanding tonkatsu receipe. Crispy and juicy inside. Very delicious. Your sauce was also excellent. Thanks
Hi Ryan! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
I really miss the tonkatsu I had in Tokyo – it was so delicious! I will use your recipe and make it for my family now that we are back in Canada. How do you make the dressing for the raw cabbage that is served with tonkatsu?
Hi Ellie! What was the dressing? Each Tonkatsu restaurant has different dressings. Most Japanese use tonkatsu sauce (I have homemade recipe on the blog) or whatever the dressing the restaurant serves at the table.
Here’s sesame dressing:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/sesame-dressing/
And wafu dressing:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/wafu-dressing-japanese-salad-dressing/
Carrot ginger dressing:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/carrot-ginger-dressing/
Hope you enjoy!
レシピはめちゃ美味しいでした！私たちはアメリカ人から、はじめて食べる。My picky Hispanic-American family loved the meal! Super yummy and easy. ありがとうございます！
こんにちは、Nat! コメントどうもありがとう！So happy your family enjoyed this recipe!
Hello
I just wondering, can I use beef instead of pork for this recipe?
Thank you
Hi Vee! We do have Gyu-katsu which is beef katsu. I have never made it at home, but you can. I have to study the trick and oil temperature so that beef won’t be overcooked. It should be cooked till medium rare to medium to be tender, since you don’ t have to cook all the way like pork.
I’ve made this twice, and it’s turned out great! Thanks for the detailed post!
The only thing I did to make it more to my liking was to brine the pork cutlet first and leave out the recipe salt because of the brine. Also, the restaurants (around here anyway) tend to use fairly thin slices of pork and then cut the finished tonkatsu in narrower slices. The thin slices of pork cook quicker, which allows the breading to stay on the lighter side of color. This is how we seem to prefer it. Thanks again!
Hi Ernie! I’m so glad to hear yours came out well too! The brining is a great idea, although somehow it’s not very common when making Tonkatsu in Japan. It’s funny, the thicker the Tonkatsu is, the better it is in Tonkatsu specialized restaurants in Japan. I went for the same/similar thickness that I could make. 😀 On the contrary, at a regular household, thin tonkatsu is quite popular for easy deep frying with less oil (I also have the recipe). 🙂
Thank you again for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. xoxo
This was my first time making tonkatasu and it was delicious. So fast and easy and easy to make. Your tips were really helpful. I made sure to keep the oil at 350 degrees and it did not burn. Will keep this recipe for future meals.
Hi Chris! I’m so happy to hear you give this recipe a try and it came out well. Thank you for your kind feedback, Chris! 🙂
Great step-by-step. My Husband got tired of hearing me pound the pork and bought a little tenderizer that looks kind of like a meat grinder and clamps to my counter-top. And don’t worry if your cutlet is a little pink in the center. Trichinosis is no longer an issue with pork produced in the US and government guidelines now say to cook pork chops and roasts to 145 F (medium) instead of the higher well done temps common a few decades ago
Thank you Janet! Haha, your husband is nice to get you a cool meat tenderizer! And thanks for the information on doneness for the pork! 🙂
Hi!
Can the oil not be reused for frying again?
I know that they do that with oil used for omelettes in Spain
Hi Davide! Yes, you can reuse the oil, if the oil stays clean. Make sure to use a fine-mesh sieve to pick up all the crumbs. I usually use it within a week before oxidizing. 🙂
Delicious and crispy! Both of my kids loved it, too! Confession, I ran out of panko when I was breading the last pork chop so I crushed up some croutons and used that. It came out really good, too! We could barely notice the difference!
Hi Jackie! Thank you for trying this recipe! I love the croutons idea (well that’s bread anyway haha). My “Baked Tonkatsu” recipe actually uses toasted panko. So it’s a pretty similar concept. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
It was perfect 🙂 Absolutely perfect. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Cindy!
This was delicious! One of my favorite Japanese meals. Super easy to make. Tastes delicious. Will make again. Do you think it would be as successful with a chicken breast for one family member who is not a pork fan? I have not tried yet but wondering if anyone else has? Thank you. LOVE your website. Clear, concise recipes, gorgeous photos and steps. Can’t wait to try more recipes. ありがとうございました
Hi Steph! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
And yes, we call it Chicken Katsu:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-katsu/
Also don’t miss that I have baked versions too!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/baked-tonkatsu/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/crispy-baked-chicken/
I made this. Came out great. The oil in the egg really does seem to help.
Hi Mike! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Great recipe. Lots of good tips. One tip that I can add is to use rice flour instead of wheat flour. Sticks better to the meat and gets crispier.
There is not much that beats a good schnitzel and the Japanese do it well.
Hi Keith! Thank so much for trying this recipe and for your tip! Rice flour makes it crispy so your advice is great. And it’s gluten free.
If anyone is looking for gluten-free, you can make Gluten Free Katsu with rice flour and GF panko!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/gluten-free-baked-chicken-katsu/ (this one is baked version)
I tried the Tonkatsu fried pork chop and it was very crisp and tender. Try this recipe it very easy and is great with the sauce.
Hi Jadie! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Delicious! I don’t think I sprayed the panko enough so I’ll try to make it wetter next time.
Can I make this with boneless skinless chicken thighs? I plan to pound it down first. Would the same cooking times work? I really like leaving it for 4 minutes to continue to cook to avoid over cooking it.
Hi Steph! Panko should be nicely cover the pork. Yes, I have a chicken katsu recipe!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-katsu/
Hello, Nami! I really appreciate your recipe as it is very detailed, and I loved the trick of spraying panko with water beforehand. Our panko is a bit bland, too, thus, I add a bit of salt to it. I tried this recipe and it turned out well, although, it was not as golden brown as in your pictures, but my husband and I were satisfied with the taste! I will try this again, maybe at a higher temp (I have an induction cooktop).
I experimented a bit, though. For the second fry, I tried airfrying two of the tonkatsu pieces. It turned out OK, actually, but, it was not as juicy (kind of dry meat inside) as the conventional double fried tonkatsu.
Overall, I am happy with this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Hi Ana! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! So glad you liked it! I have baked tonkatsu recipe on the site too, but I prefer deep fry version as nothing beats this deep-fried texture and taste… 🙂
Turned out perfectly. I have tried both fresh bread crumbs and dry panko from a box. Each yields a different result, but my family likes them both equally well. Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi Jennifer! I’m so glad to hear yours came out well! Thank you for trying out both panko types and for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi! I really love your recipes and was planning on making this tonkatsu over the weekend. We like thicker slices of pork so I was wondering how long would I deep fry each side if I wanted to do a 1-inch thick pork loin?
Thank you!
Hi Doris! Cooking pork is a bit harder, especially when it’s thick. It takes a longer time to cook through, and you don’t want to overcook it (and burn the panko outside)… Controlling the oil temperature is SO important here. If it’s too hot, the panko will burn quickly and raw pork inside. If it’s too low, it gets soggy… I am not sure how long it takes without testing myself. Sorry. Good luck! Having an instant thermometer would help to check if the pork is cooked through or not (without cutting). 🙂 Good luck!
Hi my name is Dryden Kuramoto a 14 year old highschool student and I was wondering if I could get permission to use the pictures on this recipe for a project.
Hi Dryden! That’s fine with me as long as the images are used only for the school project. Good luck!
I just made this tonight. It was my first time attempting tonkatsu. I’ve always been intimidated by pounding out meat but I have no idea why because it was easy lol. Your directions were super helpful. I missed the part about double frying but everything came out crispy and cooked perfectly anyways!
Hi Becca,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
We are so glad to hear that the directions were super helpful!
Thank you for writing!
I love this recipe, I tried the deep fried version and turned out wonderful! But I couldn’t get the same effect for airfrying. How would you suggest modifying it to get the same kind of juiciness?
Hi Dephanie,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
Our suggestion to keep the meat moist and juicy is not to overcook the meat. The oil used to deep fry can penetrate the food deeper and keep continue to cook the meat, so we recommend reviewing Step 12. Another suggestion is to try the Bake version; https://www.justonecookbook.com/baked-tonkatsu/
We hope this is helpful.😊