🍱 Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu is a thick pork cutlet coated in flour, beaten egg and coarse breadcrumbs, then deep-fried until the crust is shatteringly crisp and the meat stays juicy. It is sliced into strips and served with finely shredded raw cabbage and a thick, fruity tonkatsu sauce, usually with rice and miso soup on the side.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pork loin chops, about 150 g each
- 30 g flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 60 g coarse breadcrumbs
- Oil for deep-frying
- 200 g white cabbage, finely shredded
- 4 tbsp tonkatsu sauce
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Trim the pork, nick the fat edge to stop curling and season with salt and pepper.
- Dust with flour, dip in egg and press into the breadcrumbs.
- Fry in oil at 170 °C for 5–6 minutes, turning once, until golden and cooked through.
- Drain on a rack, rest 2 minutes and slice.
- Serve with the shredded cabbage and sauce.
How to make it lighter
- Bake or air-fry the breaded cutlet instead of deep-frying to save a lot of oil.
- Use lean loin and trim the fat edge.
- Pile up the cabbage and go easy on the sauce, which contains sugar.
History
Tonkatsu grew out of Western-style cutlets introduced to Japan in the late 19th century; a Tokyo restaurant is usually credited with the thick, deep-fried pork version in the early 20th century. It is now a staple of Japanese set-meal restaurants.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Tonkatsu and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
Download on the App StoreSimilar dishes
Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →