What do Italy, Germany, and Japan have in common? They all serve a family favorite: crispy, breadcrumb-coated, fried pork cutlets. In Italy, it's called Milanese and is made with chicken, pork, or veal. Germans call it schnitzel. In Japan, it’s called katsu, which roughly translates to "cutlet." Unlike other cutlets coated with fine-textured breadcrumbs, katsu is prepared with Panko, a coarser textured crumb, resulting in maximum crispiness.
Aside from the panko coating, what also sets katsu apart from fried cutlets in other countries is the sauce. Tonkatsu refers to deep-fried pork cutlets and is where the popular sauce derives its name.
Tonkatsu sauce is super easy to make at home, especially if you can't find the popular Bull-Dog brand at your local supermarket. All you need are four basic pantry ingredients—ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard. Another bonus: no cooking is required to make this recipe.
Tonkatsu Japanese Fried Pork
What Does Tonkatsu Sauce Taste Like?
Often referred to as Japanese-style barbecue sauce or katsu sauce. tonkatsu sauce is savory and sweet, with a slight tang. In this recipe, ketchup adds the sugary tartness, while soy sauce and Worcestershire lend some umami power.
Adapt Tonkatsu Sauce to Your Diet
Making tonkatsu sauce at home also means you can customize it to fit your dietary needs.
If you’re keto, then choose sugar-free ketchup.
For a gluten-free version, be sure to buy Worcestershire sauce that’s wheat-free and use tamari instead of the soy sauce (or find a gluten-free soy sauce).
Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovies or fish sauce, but vegan versions are available, which means you can even make a vegan tonkatsu sauce.
How to Use Tonkatsu Sauce
While tonkatsu refers to pork cutlets, tonkatsu sauce is used on all kinds of fried fare—chicken, beef, and even tofu. It's also the perfect dipping sauce for anything you'd normally pair with ketchup or barbecue sauce.
Looking to boost your burger game? Tonkatsu sauce is the answer. Next time you're serving pulled pork, swap in this sauce for a Japanese twist on an American classic.Here are more ideas:
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue
Kaki Fry (Japanese Fried Oysters)
Ebi Fry (Japanese Fried Shrimp)
Bison Burger
Breaded Fried Tofu Sticks
Okonomiyaki
"This recipe is so easy. I had all four ingredients in my fridge and it took minutes to mix up. It truly tastes just like the tonkatsu sauce you get at the store and the sweet-tart flavor goes so perfectly with fried tonkatsu cutlets." —Patty Lee
We love the ease of this 4-ingredient tonkatsu sauce recipe, but you can put your own spin on it.
Butter adds a creamy texture and mellows the acidity a little. If you want to try this variation, add all the ingredients to a small pot and cook it over medium-low heat until the butter melts.
Want to punch up the flavor? Add mirin, a Japanese rice wine, and a few splashes of hot sauce for a spicy tonkatsu sauce.
How to Store
Tonkatsu sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Teriyaki Sauce
Japanese Food
Japanese Cooking Basics
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
12
Calories
0g
Fat
3g
Carbs
0g
Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories
12
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g
0%
Saturated Fat 0g
0%
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 201mg
9%
Total Carbohydrate 3g
1%
Dietary Fiber 0g
0%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg
4%
Calcium 6mg
0%
Iron 0mg
2%
Potassium 62mg
1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Recipe Tags:
sauce
tonkatsu sauce
japanese
family dinner
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Tonkatsu sauce mainly consists of vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, prunes, dates, apples, lemon juice, carrots, onions, and celery. It also includes more than 10 kinds of spices along with soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.
Short for tonkatsu, katsu sauce is essentially the Japanese equivalent of Western barbecue sauce. It's sweet and tangy with an umami undertone that packs a flavorful punch. You'll usually find it served with pork tonkatsu, a popular dish of breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet with cabbage and rice.
This is another sauce unique to Japan often used for tonkatsu and other deep-fried dishes. Imagine that if Worcestershire sauce features smooth and spicy while tonkatsu sauce being thick and sweet, chuno sauce is an intermediate type between these two.
In our sauce, over 10 different spices are ground and blended in-house, including ginger, red pepper, cinnamon, cloves, laurel, and thyme. This magnificent blend of spices gives the sauce its tangy and refreshing flavor. spanning over 100 years.
Tonkatsu could be a dangerous food if you eat batter-fat one with lots of rice and dipping sauce. It's a carb and fat bomb. Curry contains flour and lots of sodium, so the combo of katsu and curry is even more dangerous even though it's really addictive.
What Does Tonkatsu Sauce Taste Like? Often referred to as Japanese-style barbecue sauce or katsu sauce. tonkatsu sauce is savory and sweet, with a slight tang. In this recipe, ketchup adds the sugary tartness, while soy sauce and Worcestershire lend some umami power.
The only thing to be concerned about is temperature management. Too cold, and your bread crumbs will take too long to crisp, allowing the meat to overcook. Way too cold, and they'll slough off before they can even set. Too hot, and they'll burn before the meat is done.
It involves coating slices of pork with panko (bread crumbs), and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu is also the basis of other dishes such as katsukarē and katsudon.
Tonkatsu sauce is a Japanese version of Worcestershire sauce that is thicker, similar to brown sauce. Although the sauce is typically pretty complex, a nice simple way to make it at home is to simply mix Worcestershire sauce with ketchup along with some soy sauce.
A mixture of freshly ground sesame seeds and Tonkatsu Sauce is a nutty and rich tasting sauce. Another sauce is a more Japanese-style sauce of grated Daikon radish and Ponzu Sauce. This sauce gives the dish a little lighter feel because of the spiciness of fresh Daikon and the sourness of citrus.
It is a versatile sauce that pairs well with breaded and fried foods, particularly tonkatsu, a popular Japanese dish made with breaded and deep-fried pork cutlets. It is often served drizzled over tonkatsu or used as a dipping sauce for other fried foods like chicken katsu or korokke (croquettes).
Yes, Katsu sauce and Tonkatsu sauce are essentially the same thing. Both terms refer to a thick, sweet, and tangy sauce that is commonly used in Japanese cuisine as a condiment for dishes like tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet) or chicken katsu (breaded and fried chicken cutlet).
Tonkatsu sauce or katsu sauce is a Japanese sauce served with tonkatsu (pork cutlet). It is a thick (viscosity over 2.0 pascal-second, per JAS Standard) Japanese Worcestershire-type sauce.
By the way, while sauce chien translates as 'dog sauce', the name in fact has nothing to do with dogs. The salsa is named for a sharp knife that is widely used in the French Caribbean islands.
In truth, tonkatsu and tonkotsu are very different. The main similarity is that they both feature pork: Ton translates to pig or pork. But the dishes differ: Tonkatsu refers to crispy fried pork cutlets, while tonkotsu is a type of ramen made from bone broth.
It is a thick (viscosity over 2.0 pascal-second, per JAS Standard) Japanese Worcestershire-type sauce. It is similar to a brown sauce (British Isles), and can include a fish sauce, tomatoes, prunes, dates, apples, lemon juice, carrots, onions, and celery among its ingredients.
Etymology. The word tonkatsu is a combination of the Sino-Japanese word ton (豚) meaning "pig", and katsu (カツ), which is a shortened form of katsuretsu (カツレツ), an old transliteration of the English word "cutlet", which was in turn adopted from the French word côtelette.
Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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