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Tokyo Style Tonkatsu

Name: Tokyo Style Tonkatsu
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 6 pork chops (170g or 6 oz each); Salt; Corn starch; Egg wash (3 eggs whisked with 1T neutral oil); 350 g Japanese panko breadcrumbs (sifted to remove small dusty pieces); Water (in spray bottle); 30 g worcestershire; 10 g soy sauce; 10 g sesame oil; 50 g oyster sauce; 50 g molasses; 25 g dijon; 1 g onion powder; 1 g garlic powder; 10 g ginger (grated/minced); 125 g ketchup; Finely shred some green cabbage (with a knife or mandolin)

Tokyo style Tonkatsu might be the GOAT when it comes to crispy, saucy pork. I found the best way to make this tonkatsu the crispiest and it’s probably not how you would expect.

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 15

Servings: servings

Ingredients

TONKATSU (makes 6 pork chops):

6 pork chops, 170g or 6 oz each
Salt
Corn starch
Egg wash, 3 eggs whisked with 1T neutral oil
350 g Japanese panko breadcrumbs, sifted to remove small dusty pieces
Water, in spray bottle

TONKATSU SAUCE:

30 g worcestershire
10 g soy sauce
10 g sesame oil
50 g oyster sauce
50 g molasses
25 g dijon
1 g onion powder
1 g garlic powder
10 g ginger, grated/minced
125 g ketchup

TO PLATE:

Finely shred some green cabbage, with a knife or mandolin

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

TONKATSU (makes 6 pork chops):

Place each chop in a plastic bag and pound until they’re about ¾” to 1″ thick (2cm). Use a jaccarding tool or poke with a fork a few times to tenderize the meat.
Salt on both sides and allow to brine in the fridge for 10-15 minutes while you make the tonkatsu sauce (recipe below) To set up the breading station, place corn starch on 1 plate or tray, place eggs in another plate/tray, and place japanese panko on a third. Spritz the breadcrumbs with water to moisten and just take the dry edge off.
To bread, coat each pork chop in corn starch, then egg wash, then the panko. Carefully press to be sure as much panko sticks as possible. Spritz the panko’d chops with water then drop into the panko again to adhere more crumbs.
To fry, heat oil over medium heat in a large somewhat shallow pan to 325F/162C. The oil should be no more than ½-⅔ of the way up the sides of the pan. Carefully drop chops away from your body (1-2 at a time depending on size of your pan). Flip after 90 seconds of cooking. Cook for 90 more seconds or until internal temp reaches 135F/58C and chop is golden brown. Place on wire rack to drain. I go so far as to drain my chops vertically to ensure max crispiness.