is a Japanese dish that consists of a

breaded 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 ...

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

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 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 ...

(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 Katsu curry ( ja, カツカレー, katsukarē) is a Japanese dish consisting of a pork cutlet () served with a portion of Japanese rice and curry. It is served on a large plate and is typically eaten using a spoon or fork. The cutlet is usually ...

'' and ''

katsudon is a popular Japanese food, a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, egg, vegetables, and condiments. The dish takes its name from the Japanese words ''tonkatsu'' (for pork cutlet) and ''donburi'' (for ''rice bowl dish'') ...

''.

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 Cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', "rib") refers to: # a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken # a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a '' cotoletta ...

.''

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 t ...

gairaigo is Japanese for " loan word", and indicates a transcription into Japanese. In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed in ancient times from Old or Middle Chinese (especially Literary Chine ...

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 In Japanese cuisine, refers to a style of Western-influenced cooking which originated during the Meiji Restoration. These are primarily Japanized forms of European dishes, often featuring Western names, and usually written in katakana. It is an ...

— 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 ''

'' (

bread crumbs 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 ...

) 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 Brown sauce is a condiment commonly served with food in the United Kingdom and Ireland, normally dark brown in colour. The taste is either tart or sweet with a peppery taste similar to that of Worcestershire sauce. Brown sauce is typically eate ...

called

tonkatsu sauce Tonkatsu sauce is a thick sauce served with tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet). It is a thick (viscosity over 2.0 pascal-second, per JAS Standard) Japanese Worcestershire-type sauce. It is similar to a brown sauce, and can include a fish 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 are Japanese preserved vegetables (usually pickled in salt, brine, or a bed of rice bran). They are served with rice as an ''okazu'' (side dish), with drinks as an '' otsumami'' (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a ...

'' and eaten with chopsticks. It may also be served with ''

ponzu is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is tart, with a thin, watery consistency and nearly colorless. or is ponzu with soy sauce () added, and the mixed dark brown product is widely referred to as simply . The term ...

'' 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 consumed ...

'' instead of tonkatsu sauce.

Variations

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 spre ...

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 ''Perilla frutescens'' var. ''crispa'', also known by its Japanese name shiso, is a cultigen of ''Perilla frutescens'', a herb in the mint family ''Lamiaceae''. It is native to the mountainous regions of China and India, but is now found world ...

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 Tori katsu (), which uses chicken instead, often appears in Hawaiian plate lunches. *

Menchi-katsu is a Japanese breaded and deep-fried ground meat patty; a fried meat cake.''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', The meat is usually ground beef, pork, or a mixture of the two. It is often served in inexpensive ''bento'' and '' teis ...

() or minchi katsu ( mince katsu), is a minced meat patty, breaded and deep fried. * Hamu katsu ( ham katsu), a similar dish made from

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "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 Horse mackerel is a vague vernacular term for a range of species of fish throughout the English-speaking world. It is commonly applied to pelagic fishes, especially of the Carangidae (jack mackerels and scads) family, most commonly those of the gen ...

) 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 is commonly served in three main forms: , curry udon (curry over thick noodles), and (a curry-filled pastry). It is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. The very common "curry rice" is most often referred to simply as . Along with the sau ...

to become ''

''. ''Tonkatsu'' is sometimes simmered with egg and broth, then served on a big bowl of rice as ''

''. There is also katsu rice, which is pork cutlet on rice topped with demi-glace sauce.

References

External links