tonkatsu

[Hiroyuki]

I don't like to deep fry and my wife is firmly opposed to the extra fat. I make "tonkatsu" by coating a whole tenderloin (about 8-10 oz) and dredging in panko, then roast or "oven-fry" in an oiled pan, turning a few times. Kind of like oven-fried chicken. Works great if you're interested in lower fat cooking. After resting the meat, I slice into quarter to half-inch slices.

←

I know what you mean. According to this webpage (sorry, Japanese only), tonkatsu (one serving) contains 12 g of oil, French fries (M size) 20 g, and tempura (one serving) 15 g. When I buy tonkatsu at a supermarket, I usually wrap it in a sheet of paper towel and put in the toaster oven to reheat it. You will be amazed at the amount of oil coming out of it.

[BarbaraY]

Since I rarely deep fry anything, I don't think a couple of times a year are going to kill us.

Jay's idea looks interesting so I may give it a shot sometime. Thanx.

[JayBassin]

what kind of sauce is supposed to be served with this stuff? the sauce i get is usually a sweet-ish A1 type of thing.

←

I mix half ketchup and half home-made tare marinade (which I keep on hand for teriyaki). That way, I don't end up with lots of different specialty sauces in the fridge.

[jkonick]

what kind of sauce is supposed to be served with this stuff? the sauce i get is usually a sweet-ish A1 type of thing.

←

I usually mix together 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup worcestershire, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, two tablespoons of mustard and heat it on the stove until it's all combined and glossy. I think it's better thaan the storebought stuff, but it's also less convenient.

[torakris]

If you love tonkatsu but want to try something a little different you must try Kimukatsu. I have been wanting to go here for a while now and finally had the chance to pop into their little booth in Takashimaya's basement in Futakotamagawa. I picked up their Kimukatsu sando (sandwich) for 680 yen ($6).

This place is different than regular tonkatsu in that instead of a using a cut of pork, they layer 25 slices of very thinly sliced pork and then deep fry it. The result is incredibly juicy.

Now that I have had the sandwich I am really craving the real thing!

Kimukatsu Homepage

[OnigiriFB]

If you love tonkatsu but want to try something a little different you must try Kimukatsu. I have been wanting to go here for a while now and finally had the chance to pop into their little booth in Takashimaya's basement in Futakotamagawa. I picked up their Kimukatsu sando (sandwich) for 680 yen ($6).

This place is different than regular tonkatsu in that instead of a using a cut of pork, they layer 25 slices of very thinly sliced pork and then deep fry it. The result is incredibly juicy.

Now that I have had the sandwich I am really craving the real thing!

Kimukatsu Homepage

←

Oh.MY! That looks scrumptious. I have to try that. Hrm... I was thinking of doing corokke maybe I should throw some tonkatsu into the oil too. Make one heck of a fry up don't you think?

[torakris]

Oh.MY! That looks scrumptious. I have to try that. Hrm... I was thinking of doing corokke maybe I should throw some tonkatsu into the oil too. Make one heck of a fry up don't you think?

←

You don't want to let that oil go to waste!!

[Marlene]

It's been ages since I made this, so last night we had a tonkatsu fest with fried rice

[nakji]

I bow down before the heavenly deliciousness of (as we say here in Korea) Don-casse!

On New Year's Day at roughly 3 am, I rang in the new year and soaked up the soju with a Family Mart egg salad and curry-casse sandwich. It was exactly the right balance of horrible and delicious that I expect from all of my Family Mart snacks. Family Mart also has taken to stuffing gimbap (Korean maki-type rolls) with cold strips of this.

When you get doncasse at a gimbap restaurant here, it's usually served in a whole piece, swimming in a hot (temperature) and much more ketchuppy sauce, and you're expected to eat it with a fork and knife. Also, the cabbage comes dressed in ketchupaise (mayochup?), and, if you're really lucky, cold canned corn. This is a favourite post drinking snack for me. If you go to a Doncasse specialist, you can get Hire-cass, and the salad is usually much more upscale - a citrus dressing on the cabbage and halved cherry tomatoes. Is the cabbage like this in Japan? And if so, any idea on what goes into the dressing? As mentioned upthread, these places often serve cheese-casse, chicken-casse, and fish-casse. My husband loves cheese-casse, but I think it's too much of a good thing.

[Hiroyuki]

If you go to a Doncasse specialist, you can get Hire-cass, and the salad is usually much more upscale - a citrus dressing on the cabbage and halved cherry tomatoes. Is the cabbage like this in Japan?

←

Not that I know of. A slice of lemon is usually attached next to shredded cabbage, though.

[sanrensho]

Not that I know of.  A slice of lemon is usually attached next to shredded cabbage, though.

I agree, the cabbage in Japan is traditionally served unadorned and undressed. I like to add a little tonkatsu sauce to the cabbage, although my wife likes to dress it with mayonnaise at home.

As for the citrus dressing, it could be anything. I find that salad dressings in Japan vary widely in terms of composition and ingredients, unlike the common standbys you might find in North America (Thousand Island, Italian, Oil and Vinegar, Ceasar's, etc.).

[_john]

What is the proper way to eat the cabbage? I am always confused by this. There seems to be this huge mound of cabbage in comparison to the 'katsu. I like cabbage as much as the next guy but I can never eat very much of it. Am I missing something? Are you supposed to eat it along with the 'katsu?

I now usually end up ordering katsu curry to avoid the whole cabbage thing.

[tug]

Basically because it already has a sauce, the piece of deep fried tonkatsu is simmered in a thin slightly sweet soy sauce based sauce then an egg is added and cooked until set, finally the whole thing is slid onto a bowl of rice with the extra sauce dripping down into the rice.

In other words it is already seasoned, there is no reason to season again, I also think the tonkatsu sauce isn't really a good addition to an already heavy katsudon.

←

This is my first post in this forum, please be gentle with me

I make a pretty good version of katsudon - even my picky husband eats it. The "sauce" I use though is a mix of a dashi broth, soy, and mirin? I dont make the dashi from scratch, I'm sorry .. its from a powder. The result is very close to the taste I get when I had some of the "staff meal" at a friend's Japanese restaurant.

I make the rice .. then the sauce .. then carmelize some onions, with a little sauce .. then I make the katsu .. and finally .. fling some soft cooked eggs and the sauce, onions, and the katsu on top of some rice. Its horribly messy .. but glorious.

I would love to refine the technique, and at a minimum .. make this more authentic?

[Norio]

This is my first post in this forum, please be gentle with me

I make a pretty good version of katsudon - even my picky husband eats it.  The "sauce" I use though is a mix of a dashi broth, soy, and mirin?  I dont make the dashi from scratch, I'm sorry .. its from a powder.  The result is very close to the taste I get when I had some of the "staff meal" at a friend's Japanese restaurant.

I make the rice .. then the sauce .. then carmelize some onions, with a little sauce .. then I make the katsu .. and finally .. fling some soft cooked eggs and the sauce, onions, and the katsu on top of some rice.  Its horribly messy .. but glorious.

I would love to refine the technique, and at a minimum .. make this more authentic?

←

I'd say you're on the right track as far as the sauce goes. What I do is saute some onions in a 8 inch nonstick frypan, add sauce, top sliced tonkatsu, then add beaten egg around the edges. I cover the pan and let it simmer until the eggs are set. Then I carefully slide the whole thing onto the top of a large bowl of rice (donburi). The egg tends to hold everything together, so you get something that stays in one piece, and fits neatly on top of the rice. I believe this is pretty much the standard way of making it. You could try using a bigger pan if you want to make more than one serving at a time, but you won't get the same presentation effect.

[tug]

I'd say you're on the right track as far as the sauce goes.  What I do is saute some onions in a 8 inch nonstick frypan, add sauce, top sliced tonkatsu, then add beaten egg around the edges.  I cover the pan and let it simmer until the eggs are set.  Then I carefully slide the whole thing onto the top of a large bowl of rice (donburi).  The egg tends to hold everything together, so you get something that stays in one piece, and fits neatly on top of the rice.  I believe this is pretty much the standard way of making it.  You could try using a bigger pan if you want to make more than one serving at a time, but you won't get the same presentation effect.

←

thats pretty much what I have done. I did recently buy some covered bowls. I might try adding the egg to the whole thing after the onions and katsu are on the rice, then popping the lid on, letting the steam cook the egg. The dishes I've had of this tended to include more egg in the rice, and I cannot achieve that if the egg is cooked beforehand.

wow .. I want this for dinner now!

[sanrensho]

thats pretty much what I have done.  I did recently buy some covered bowls.  I might try adding the egg to the whole thing after the onions and katsu are on the rice, then popping the lid on, letting the steam cook the egg.  The dishes I've had of this tended to include more egg in the rice, and I cannot achieve that if the egg is cooked beforehand.

Adding some chopped mitsuba to the finished donburi is a nice touch, assuming you have access to it.

[torakris]

What is the proper way to eat the cabbage? I am always confused by this. There seems to be this huge mound of cabbage in comparison to the 'katsu. I like cabbage as much as the next guy but I can never eat very much of it. Am I missing something? Are you supposed to eat it along with the 'katsu?

I now usually end up ordering katsu curry to avoid the whole cabbage thing.

←

I love the cabbage!

How I eat it depends on the mood I am in and the way it is served. In most places it seems to be served with a lemon wedge, so I usually just squirt this on and eat it like that. Some places serve it with a dollop of mayo, on the rare occasion I might mix it in but I usually just leave it. If I find the tonkatsu sauce to be quite tastey I might pour it on the cabbage and and eat it like that. This is the way my husband always eat it. I don't think there is a special way to eat or if it even has to be eaten, I have seen plenty of dishes go back to the kitchen with piles of cabbage.

As to when to eat it, my husband and I both eat after we have finished all of the tonkatsu but we have no particular reason for doing this...

tug,

Welcome to eGullet and the Japan forum! Your katsudon sounds great!!

[sanrensho]

What is the proper way to eat the cabbage? I am always confused by this. There seems to be this huge mound of cabbage in comparison to the 'katsu.

I usually like to eat my tonkatsu and shredded cabbage together. Also helps to cut down on the guilt factor of eating deep-fried food.

[nakji]

I usually like to eat my tonkatsu and shredded cabbage together. Also helps to cut down on the guilt factor of eating deep-fried food.

Yeah, I was always under the impression that the cabbage was there to cut the grease. Although, in Korea, it looks like this:

So, a lot of grease nonetheless. Notice the cutlet is already smothered in sauce - which I hate, as it makes the bread crumbs soggy. Bleah.

The cabbage has both mayonnaise and ketchup - a charming combination! This one has a side of curry rice as well. Hearty!

[torakris]

I usually like to eat my tonkatsu and shredded cabbage together. Also helps to cut down on the guilt factor of eating deep-fried food.

Yeah, I was always under the impression that the cabbage was there to cut the grease. Although, in Korea, it looks like this:

So, a lot of grease nonetheless. Notice the cutlet is already smothered in sauce - which I hate, as it makes the bread crumbs soggy. Bleah.

The cabbage has both mayonnaise and ketchup - a charming combination! This one has a side of curry rice as well. Hearty!

←

Wow! now that is a grease overload!!

Is this a Japanese restaurant in Korea? or just a general restaurant that serves various dishes?

Is it common to put the sauce on top like that?

In college I had this Korean friend who made the best tonkatsu, after salt and peppering the the pork he would smear it with that jarred minced garlic (a lot of it) then flour, egg, panko and deep fry. It was really good.....

I don't think I have welcomed you to eGullet yet, welcome!

[nakji]

Thanks!

No, this was taken in a gimbap restaurant - a kind of lunch cafe. A lot of people I talk to are completely unaware that Doncasse is Japanese - they thinks it's a western dish! A lot of Chinese Jjajangmyeon places serve it as well, so I think everyone just thinks of it as "foreign". At a Korean or Chinese place, the sauce is always served on top, and it's much more tomato-ey than Japanese Tonkatsu sauce. Also, it's hot (in temperature). It makes the crust go all soggy, and I'm not a fan of this style. I'll eat it in a pinch, though.

The food court at the Tesco down the road does an admirable job of Japanese style "hire-cass", with sauce on the side, etc., and you can find it at Japanese restaurants done in the traditional style. So it's almost like two distinct styles are available - Korean and Japanese.

I must say I prefer the Japanese style. It goes lovely with a Diet Coke.

[sanrensho]

Notice the cutlet is already smothered in sauce - which I hate, as it makes the bread crumbs soggy. Bleah.

Can you ask for the sauce on the side? There is also a style of katsudon in Japan known as "sauce katsudon" in which the katsu is already sauced before placing it on rice.

http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/ske/imgs/1/1/117debbc.jpg

[nakji]

Yes, I could ask for it on the side....I don't usually because most of these places react to changes in the dish with a combination of horror, amusement, and chagrin. My husband, who can't abide gim (laver), always asks for his bibimbap without, which sends the shop ladies into flights of laughter! Then there is usually a lot of discussion about how picky foreigners are.

The photo of the sauce katsu looks really yummy. They never serve doncasse on rice here, I'm not sure why. It would soak up all of the lovely grease and sauce!

[torakris]

I was running various errands yesterday and this tonkatsu bento caught my eye at the supermarket. I reallyliked the addition of grainy mustard instead of the more typical karashi.

[Hiroyuki]

What's special about this tonkatsu is that my son (9) helped my wife and me make it (I did the deep-frying, though). He also helped me make tofu and nameko miso soup. He sometimes wants to help us cook meals, and we accept his offer, rather reluctantly...