is a popular
Japanese food
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 othe ...
, a bowl of rice topped with a
deep-fried breaded pork cutlet,
egg,
vegetables
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...
, and
condiments
A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...
.
The dish takes its name from the Japanese words ''
tonkatsu
is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork 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 ...
'' (for pork cutlet) and ''
donburi
is a Japanese "rice-bowl dish" consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice. ''Donburi'' meals are usually served in oversized rice bowls which are also called ''donburi''. If one needs to ...
'' (for ''rice bowl dish'').
It has become a modern
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
for Japanese students to eat katsudon the night before taking a major test or school entrance exam. This is because "katsu" is a
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...
of the verb , meaning "to win" or "to be victorious". It is also a
trope
Trope or tropes may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept
* Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device
* Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...
in Japanese police films: that suspects will speak the truth with tears when they have eaten katsudon
and are asked, "Did you ever think about how your mother feels about this?" Even nowadays, the gag of "We must eat katsudon while
interrogating" is popular in Japanese films. However, , police will never actually feed suspects during interrogation.
Preparation
The
tonkatsu
is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork 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 ...
for the katsudon dish is prepared by dipping the cutlet in flour, followed by egg, then dipping in
panko
Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thicken ...
breadcrumbs, and deep-frying.
Next, into a boiling broth of
dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour b ...
,
soy sauce
Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...
and
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
s, the sliced tonkatsu and a beaten egg is cooked.
[
* The PDF text misses the egg-dipping step before breading the meat. The video does demonstrate it.
* video]
Tonkatsu & Katsudon recipe
* web page linking to the video and PDF
Experience Japanese Home Cooking
Variants
Other bowls, made of cutlet and rice but without eggs or stock, may also be called ''katsudon''. Such dishes include:
* ''sōsu katsudon'' (sauce katsudon): with
tonkatsu sauce or
Worcestershire sauce, from regions such as
Fukui,
Kōfu,
Gunma
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...
,
Aizuwakamatsu and
Komagane
* ''demi katsudon'' or ''domi katsudon'': with
demi-glace
Demi-glace (, 'half glaze') is a rich brown sauce in French cuisine used by itself or as a base for other sauces. The term comes from the French word ''glace'', which, when used in reference to a sauce, means "icing" or "glaze." It is traditio ...
and often
green peas
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
, a specialty of
Okayama
is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is .
The city is ...
* ''shōyu-dare katsudon'': with
soy sauce
Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...
based
tare sauce,
Niigata style
* ''misokatsu-don'': '
tonkatsu
is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork 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 ...
with a sauce made with
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 ...
on rice, a favorite 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 ...
Sauce Katsudon.jpg
Fukui sause katsudon.jpg
Aidukatudon.jpg
TareKatsudon Matsuriya.jpg
If pork is substituted with beef, it will be ''
gyū-katsu
is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork 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 dis ...
-don''.
A variation made with
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 ...
and egg is called ''oyako katsudon'',
which is distinguished from ''
oyakodon'' where the meat in the latter is not fried.
See also
*
Donburi
is a Japanese "rice-bowl dish" consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice. ''Donburi'' meals are usually served in oversized rice bowls which are also called ''donburi''. If one needs to ...
: Japanese bowls of food on rice
**
Gyūdon
, also known as , is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with ''dashi'' (fish and seaweed stock), soy sauce and ''mirin'' (sweet rice wine). It may sometimes also be ...
: with simmered beef
**
Oyakodon: with chicken and egg
**
Unadon: with eel
*
Tonkatsu
is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork 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 ...
: deep fried pork cutlet
**
Katsukarē: another tonkatsu dish with curry sauce and without eggs,
served in a plate with spoon, not in a bowl with chopsticks.
References
External links
{{Rice dishes
Donburi
Japanese meat dishes
Japanese rice dishes