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Spicy Pork Katsu Sando

Name: Spicy Pork Katsu Sando
Prep time: 8 min
Total time: 11 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: pork loin chops — 340 g; salt — 5 g; black pepper — 3 g; all-purpose flour — 60 g; eggs — 200 g; bread crumbs italian style — 355 g; oil — 218 g; ketchup — 59 g; worcestershire sauce — 30 g; soy sauce — 15 g; granulated sugar — 4 g; mayonnaise — 109 g; rice wine vinegar — 4 g; sriracha — 100 g; shredded red cabbage — 473 g; white sandwich bread — 112 g

Spicy Pork Katsu Sando reads umami 6.0, salinity 5.0 and richness 4.9 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 — 6.8 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.9 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.6 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.2 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.0 · Salinity 5.0 · Richness 4.9 · Sweetness 4.4 · Heat 3.6 · Sourness 3.4 · Funk & Ferment 3.2 · Fruity 1.6 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Bitterness 1.1 · Allium 1.0 · Nutty 0.9 · Earthy 0.8 · Herbaceous 0.7 · Citrus 0.5

What's in it (16)

pork loin chops — 340 g
salt — 5 g
black pepper — 3 g
all-purpose flour — 60 g
eggs — 200 g
bread crumbs italian style — 355 g
oil — 218 g
ketchup — 59 g
worcestershire sauce — 30 g
soy sauce — 15 g
granulated sugar — 4 g
mayonnaise — 109 g
rice wine vinegar — 4 g
sriracha — 100 g
shredded red cabbage — 473 g
white sandwich bread — 112 g

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

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 166.6 kcal, 9.5 g protein, 5.8 g fat, 18.9 g carbs

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

How it's cooked (9 steps)

Pat the pork chops dry and pound between plastic wrap to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season both sides with the salt and pepper.
Set up a breading station: flour in one shallow bowl, beaten eggs in a second, panko in a third. Dredge each cutlet in flour, dip in egg, then press firmly into the panko to coat evenly on both sides.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and sugar to make the tonkatsu sauce. In a second bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, rice vinegar, and sriracha to make the spicy mayo.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 325-350°F, a pinch of panko should sizzle immediately on contact. Fry the cutlets until deeply golden brown on the first side, 3-4 minutes.
Flip and fry until the second side is deeply golden and the pork reaches 145°F internally, another 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
Let the pork rest 3 minutes so the crust sets, then slice each cutlet crosswise into thick strips.
Spread one side of each bread slice with the spicy mayo. Build each sandwich: bread, a layer of shredded cabbage, the sliced pork drizzled with tonkatsu sauce, then a second slice of bread, mayo side down.
Press each sandwich firmly with your palm to compact it, then slice in half on a diagonal.
Serve immediately while the crust is still crisp.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Hoppin' John Soup — Southern
Pork Tonkatsu — Japanese
Dongtae Jeon (Pan-Fried Pollack in Egg Batter) — Korean
Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce — Japanese
Chicken Katsu Sandwich — Japanese

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness 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.