Tonkatsu (Panko Pork Cutlet)
Thick, juicy pork loin coated in airy panko and fried golden, sliced and served the Tokyo way with a mound of finely shredded cabbage, a quick homemade tonkatsu sauce, rice and miso soup.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Crisp the cabbage
Put the shredded cabbage in the ice water for about 10 minutes so it turns crisp and sweet, then drain well in a colander.
- ¼ cabbage
- 500ml ice water
✅ Done when: cabbage is cold, crisp and well drained
Make the sauce
In a small bowl, stir the ketchup, , soy sauce and sugar together until smooth. Grind the sesame seeds in a mortar or spice grinder and set aside to add at the table.
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
✅ Done when: sauce is smooth and sesame is finely ground
Prepare the pork
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Fry
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Rest and slice
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Serve
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Crisp the cabbage
Put the shredded cabbage in the ice water for about 10 minutes so it turns crisp and sweet, then drain well in a colander.
- ¼ cabbage
- 500ml ice water
✅ Done when: cabbage is cold, crisp and well drained
Make the sauce
In a small bowl, stir the ketchup, , soy sauce and sugar together until smooth. Grind the sesame seeds in a mortar or spice grinder and set aside to add at the table.
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
✅ Done when: sauce is smooth and sesame is finely ground
Prepare the pork
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Fry
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Rest and slice
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
In 1899 the Tokyo restaurant Rengatei served a pan-fried pork cutlet inspired by the French côtelette. Over the following decades cooks thickened the cut and deep-fried it in Japanese style, and by the 1930s the dish was called tonkatsu — "ton" for pork, "katsu" from cutlet.
The shredded cabbage was a Rengatei innovation too: a fresh, cheap side that cut through the richness.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Specialist tonkatsu restaurants across Japan serve nothing else, with unlimited cabbage refills and sesame to grind at the table.
💡 Fun Fact
Rengatei, the restaurant credited with inventing the dish, still operates in Ginza today.
Ginza, Tokyo
35.67°N, 139.76°E
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