is a Japanese dish that consists of a
breaded,
deep-fried pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...
cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with
panko (bread crumbs), and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu is also the basis of other dishes such as ''
katsukarē'' and ''
katsudon''.
Etymology
The word ''tonkatsu'' is a combination of the Sino-Japanese word ''ton'' () meaning "pig", and ''katsu'' (), which is a shortened form of ''katsuretsu'' (), an old transliteration of the English word ''
cutlet.''
History
Tonkatsu originated in Japan during the
Meiji Era in the late 19th century, a dish derived from European-style breaded and fried meat cutlets. European katsuretsu (
loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...
/
gairaigo for cutlet) was usually made with beef; the pork version was created in 1899 at a restaurant serving European-style foods, named Rengatei in Tokyo, Japan. It's a type of
yōshoku — Japanese versions of
European cuisine invented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — and was called katsuretsu or simply katsu.
Preparation and serving
Either a or cut may be used; the meat is usually salted, peppered, dredged lightly in
flour, dipped into beaten egg and then coated with ''
panko'' (
bread crumbs) before being deep fried.
Tonkatsu is then sliced into bits and served, commonly with shredded cabbage.
It is most commonly eaten with a type of thick
brown sauce called
tonkatsu sauce or simply ''sōsu'' (sauce), ''
karashi
, also known as Oni Karashi is a type of mustard used as a condiment or as a seasoning in Japanese cuisine. ''Karashi'' is made from the crushed seeds of ''Brassica juncea'' (brown mustard) and is usually sold in either powder or paste form. '' ...
'' (mustard), and perhaps a slice of lemon. It is usually served with rice,
miso soup
is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. In addition, there are many optional ingredients (various vegetables, tofu, '' abura-age'', etc.) that may be added depending on regional a ...
and ''
tsukemono'' and eaten with chopsticks. It may also be served with ''
ponzu'' and grated ''
daikon
Daikon or mooli, ''Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia, daikon is harvested and consume ...
'' instead of tonkatsu sauce.
Variations
In
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...
and surrounding areas,
miso
is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and ...
katsu, tonkatsu eaten with a
hatchō miso
is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 386,999 in 164,087 households, and a population density of 999 persons per km². The total area of the city was .
Geography
Okazaki is in the coastal plains o ...
-based sauce, is a speciality.
Variations on tonkatsu may be made by sandwiching an ingredient such as
cheese or
shiso leaf between the meat, and then breading and frying. For the calorie conscious,
konnyaku is sometimes sandwiched in the meat.
Several variations of tonkatsu use alternatives to pork:
*
Chicken katsu
Chicken katsu (), also known as panko chicken, or tori katsu () is a Japanese dish of fried chicken made with panko bread crumbs which is also popular in Italy, Hawaii, London, California, and other areas of the world.
Chicken katsu is generall ...
() or
Tori katsu (), which uses chicken instead, often appears in
Hawaiian plate lunches.
*
Menchi-katsu () or minchi katsu ( mince katsu), is a minced meat patty, breaded and deep fried.
* Hamu katsu ( ham katsu), a similar dish made from
ham, is usually considered a budget alternative to tonkatsu.
* Gyū katsu ( beef katsu), also known as bīfu katsu, is popular in the
Kansai region around
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and
Kobe.
In general, breaded and deep-fried foods are called ''furai'' (frys). ''Furai'' of mammal or bird meats, such as pork, beef, or chicken are called ''katsu'' (cutlet). ''Furai'' of ingredients other than that are just called ''furai'',
such as ''aji-furai'' (fried
horse mackerel) and ''ebi-furai'' (fried prawn).
''Tonkatsu'' and other ''furai''s are never called
tempura
is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ...
. Tempura is not breaded,
[No ''panko'' appears in definition of tempura: ] and is not seen as a kind of ''furai''.
''Tonkatsu'' is also popular as a sandwich filling (''katsu sando''), or served on
Japanese curry to become ''
katsukarē''. ''Tonkatsu'' is sometimes simmered with egg and broth, then served on a big bowl of rice as ''
katsudon''. There is also katsu rice, which is pork cutlet on rice topped with demi-glace sauce.
See also
*
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan ( Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and oth ...
*
List of Japanese dishes#Deep-fried dishes (agemono, 揚げ物), a category of deep-fried dishes in Japanese cuisine
*
List of pork dishes
*
Schnitzel
References
External links
{{Sandwiches
Breaded cutlets
Deep fried foods
Japanese fusion cuisine
Japanese pork dishes
Sandwiches
Fried pork