Tonkatsu is without a doubt one of my favorite dishes. When we visited Japan in 2018 we went to the original Ginza Bairin inTokyo for tonkatsu. They don’t take reservations, which means the line of patrons starts forming at least 30 minutes prior to opening. We were pretty deep in the line, but luckily for us, we got the last two seats for the first seating. The tonkatsu did not disappoint. When we have a craving for katsu we make our own with pork or sometimes chicken. Both are equally delicious served with rice, macaroni salad, shredded cabbage and namasu. Katsu sando’s (the Japanese term for tonkatsu sandwiches) are another terrific way to serve the crunchy pork cutlets. These sandwiches are compact, beautiful and tasty.
Boneless pork loin chops are quite reasonably priced. I bought a 4-pack that cost me under $6.00. Once I got home from the market, I trimmed off the small amount of fat and pounded the pork to an even thickness of about 1/3-inch which also tenderizes the meat.
Shredded cabbage is a must with this sando, The crispy cabbage enveloped in the soft bread and fried pork with savory tonkatsu sauce is absolutely the best sando you can imagine.
There are so many brands of tonkatsu sauce available. My favorite is Kagome. If you can find it, give it a try. Good katsu sauce = tasty sando.
Kewpie mayonnaise can be found at most markets these days and on-line. Of course regular mayonnaise will do just fine, especially since it is not the star of the sandwich. But I like to go Japanese all the way when making this. Most use Japanese milk bread for the sandwiches. Since John makes all of our bread, he made this white loaf just for katsu sando and it turned out to be a keeper.
Gazing at this photo of the Katsu Sando makes me want to eat one right now!
- 4 boneless pork chop cutlets (about 5 ounces each) trimmed of fat and pounded to ⅓-inch thick
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon sour cream (optional)
- 1½ cups panko
- salt and pepper
- canola oil for frying pork
- 8 slices white bread
- butter (we use Miyoko's vegan butter)
- tonkatsu sauce (Kagome brand is our favorite)
- Kewpie mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- Pork should be pounded to ⅓-inch thick or up to ½-inch if you prefer thicker pieces. Salt and pepper both sides of pork cutlets.
- Place flour and panko on separate large plates. Mix eggs with 1 tablespoon sour cream if using, in a wide shallow bowl.
- Dredge each piece of pork in flour, shaking off excess. Dip pieces in egg mixture. Allow remaining egg to drip back into the bowl. Place pork in panko and spread panko over the top. Press firmly so the panko adheres to the pork. It's best to use a dry, clean hand so the panko doesn't clump and fall off.
- Heat a large skillet preferably with high sides over medium to medium-high heat with enough oil to reach ¼-inch up the sides of the pan. Once the oil is hot, fry pork in two batches, until nicely browned and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Transfer fried pork to a rack or plate. Continue frying the other two pieces of pork.
- To make the sandwich, butter 4 slices of bread. Spread tonkatsu sauce over the butter. Set aside.
- Spread mayonnaise on the other four slices of bread. Add shredded cabbage on the mayonnaise, followed by tonkatsu sauce. Place a fried pork cutlet on top and drizzle more tonkatsu sauce over the pork. Place buttered bread slices on top of the pork. Using a sharp knife, cut off the crusts and any extra pork to make a uniform sandwich. Cut each sandwich in half. Serve with chips and extra tonkatsu sauce.
