If you are craving a juicy and crunchy snack, look no further. I’m back with a tempting, family-friendly snack. Tonkatsu tastes delectable. However, we do not visit lavish restaurants to satisfy our craving for tonkatsu. Why go to a restaurant when we have a chef at home? Oh, yes! It is true – earlier, my mum worked as a head chef at a lavish Japanese restaurant. In this culinary masterpiece, I will share tips to make a super-crunchy, airy, and light coating. If you serve this mouthwatering delicacy with my homemade sauce, youwill be the star of the gathering.

‘Comfort’ and ‘tonkatsu’ are synonyms. You can treat Japanese people to countless international dishes. However, their heart only craves a comfort meal. And what more can comfort them than tonkatsu? Several home cooks do not make homemade tonkatsu. They consider making tonkatsu challenging. If you’re reading this post and love eating those crispy, deep-fried pork cutlets (tonkatsu), do not step back. Follow this guide to make the best homemade tonkatsu. Homemade tonkatsu is tastier than the tonkatsu that chefs serve you in a restaurant. First, try my homemade tonkatsu recipe. If you have mastered making tonkatsu, I suggest trying my other amazing recipes, such as the homemade Baked Chicken Katsu, Katsu Curry, and Katsu Sando.

What is Tonkatsu?

Tonkatsu is a Japanese snack made with pork. Cooks coat the pork nicely with breadcrumbs and fry it until it turns golden brown and crispy. As the term suggests, tonkatsu is a Japanese dish derived from two Japanese words: ‘ton’ and ‘katsu’. Ton means pork, whereas katsu means cutlet. Cutlets originated in Japan in the 1870s. The prime ingredient used in making this yummy cutlet was beef. In contemporary times, tonkatsu has become the most popular dish at Japanese eateries due to its incredible taste. Tonkatsu’s versatility is what makes it a popular snack preferred by countless foodies. Breadcrumbs used in this dish contribute to its crispness.

Impressed by its exceptional taste, my followers prefer using the same products and tools I use in my recipes. Thus, I will share every product detail with you. In this recipe, I used panko breadcrumbs. In the past, I have experimented with various products. However, the taste differed from the restaurant-style tonkatsu. Then, I turned to our head chef for her suggestions, and she said panko breadcrumbs deliver the best crunchiness to tonkatsu.

Ingredients

I love making homemade tonkatsu because of its simplicity. One can make it with a few ingredients in much less time. So, let’s check what ingredients you need to make the tastiest tonkatsu.

Tonkatsu ingredients:

• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 pork loin chops (boneless)
• 3 cups neutral oil for deep-frying.

Breading ingredients:

• ½ tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 egg (Large and shell excluded)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ cup Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)

Sesame sauce ingredients

• 1 tablespoon toasted black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons homemade or store-bought tonkatsu sauce

Salad ingredients (Optional)

• ¼ part of green cabbage (Shredded)
• 1 Persian or Japanese cucumber
• 4 tablespoons of Japanese sesame dipping

Substitutes

• Pork loin

If you’re looking for something healthier or plan to experiment with your dishes, what can be a better choice than chicken breast? It will yield you a crispy and yummy chicken tonkatsu. The preparation process is similar to preparing tonkatsu.

• Tonkatsu sauce

 If you want to make this savoury dish from scratch, you can use homemade tonkatsu sauce instead of the store-bought sauce available at Japanese groceries.

What is Japanese Panko?

Japanese panko is a star ingredient of homemade tonkatsu. It is a must-have ingredient to yield a super-light and moist crust. As foodies know, people enjoy this dish more for its crunchiness. Like most of the ingredients, the dough is also effortlessly available in the market and online. However, I do neither of them. The packaged crumbs you buy use Japanese soft milk bread. So, I only crush the bread slices in a grinder, and it’s ready. Before coating the kotsu, I sprinkle a little water on the panko. From my mom, I learnt that Japanese eateries mostly use nama panko.

Pro Tip: If you are using store-bought panko, stick to Japanese brands. I can’t promise the other brands will provide the same texture. So, decide wisely.

Directions

First, let’s begin with the preparation for the appetising dipping sauce. For this:

• Coarsely grind black and white sesame seeds. Place them and the tonkatsu sauce in a serving bowl. However, don’t mix it – people mix it right before eating.

To make your homemade tonkatsu more flavourful and aromatic, I suggest adding ginger powder, garlic powder and onion powder to the flour.

Don’t wanna eat a cheat meal or oily food, but still something lip-smacking? No worries! Try baked tonkatsu. Want a baking guide? What are you waiting for? Comment or DM on social media – I’ll share the recipe. Believe me! The baked version also turns out to be outstanding!

Serving options

Pair your homemade tonkatsu with these to relish its taste:

• Soup, such as Clam Miso Soup or Tonjiru
• Brown Rice (Short Grained)
• Pickles

Storage and Reheating Guide

You can store it in the fridge for several days and up to several months in the freezer. Freeze the extra tonkatsu in an airtight container for up to six days. If you want to store it for months, keep it in the freezer.

To reheat, microwave for a while. Set the temperature at around 350°C. If you are reheating the tonkatsu you stored in the fridge, it will take around twenty minutes. Reheating frozen tonkatsu will take around forty-five minutes.