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Pork Tonkatsu

Name: Pork Tonkatsu
Prep time: 8 min
Total time: 11 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: pork loin chops — 680 g; salt — 5 g; black pepper — 3 g; all-purpose flour — 60 g; eggs — 200 g; bread crumbs italian style — 473 g; vegetable oil — 653 g; ketchup — 118 g; worcestershire sauce — 30 g; soy sauce — 15 g; granulated sugar — 13 g; dijon mustard — 5 g; green cabbage — 100 g; short-grain white rice — 532 g

Pork Tonkatsu reads umami 6.4, salinity 5.2 and sweetness 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Japanese main, about 11 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.2 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 5.3 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.3 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
Rich & Fat — 4.9 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 1.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.4 · Salinity 5.2 · Sweetness 5.0 · Richness 4.6 · Funk & Ferment 3.2 · Sourness 3.2 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Bitterness 1.2 · Fruity 1.0 · Nutty 1.0 · Earthy 0.9 · Herbaceous 0.8 · Heat 0.8

What's in it (14)

pork loin chops — 680 g
salt — 5 g
black pepper — 3 g
all-purpose flour — 60 g
eggs — 200 g
bread crumbs italian style — 473 g
vegetable oil — 653 g
ketchup — 118 g
worcestershire sauce — 30 g
soy sauce — 15 g
granulated sugar — 13 g
dijon mustard — 5 g
green cabbage — 100 g
short-grain white rice — 532 g

Time & effort: about 11 min (8 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 251.9 kcal, 12.9 g protein, 7.2 g fat, 32.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Pat the pork chops dry and place between two sheets of plastic wrap; pound with a mallet to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season both sides with the salt and pepper.
Set up a dredging station: flour in one shallow dish, beaten eggs in a second, panko in a third. Press each cutlet into the flour to coat and shake off excess, dip in egg, then press firmly into the panko so it's fully and evenly coated; set the breaded cutlets on a plate.
In a small bowl, whisk the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and Dijon mustard until smooth; set the tonkatsu sauce aside.
Pour the oil into a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven to a depth of about 1 inch and heat over medium-high heat to 325-350F (a pinch of panko dropped in should sizzle immediately). Working in two batches so the oil temperature holds, fry the cutlets until deeply golden brown on the first side, 3-4 minutes.
Flip and fry until deeply golden on the second side and the pork reaches 145F internally, another 3-4 minutes; transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet (not paper towels, so the crust stays crisp) and repeat with the remaining cutlets, letting the oil return to 325F between batches.
Let the cutlets rest 3 minutes so the juices settle, then slice crosswise into 1-inch strips.
Plate the sliced tonkatsu over the rice with a pile of shredded cabbage alongside.
Drizzle generously with the tonkatsu sauce and serve immediately while the crust is at its crispest.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce — Japanese
Chicken Katsu Sandwich — Japanese
Dongtae Jeon (Pan-Fried Pollack in Egg Batter) — Korean
Spicy Pork Katsu Sando — Japanese
Viennese Pot Roast — German

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.