is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, Deep frying, 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 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/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'' (mustard), and perhaps a slice of lemon. It is usually served with rice, miso soup and ''tsukemono'' and eaten with chopsticks. It may also be served with ''ponzu'' and grated ''daikon'' instead of tonkatsu sauce.

Variations

In Nagoya and surrounding areas, miso katsu, tonkatsu eaten with a Okazaki, Aichi#Hatch%C5%8D miso, hatchō miso-based sauce, is a speciality. Variations on tonkatsu may be made by sandwiching an ingredient such as cheese or perilla, 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 () or Chicken katsu, Tori katsu (), which uses chicken instead, often appears in plate lunch, 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 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. 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.

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