Dongaseu (IPA: [to̞nk͈a̠sʰɯ]) is a Koreanized version of Japanese tonkatsu. It consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. Typically it is served with sauce glazed over the top, with white rice and a vegetable based banchan side dish.
The dish was introduced to Korea around 1930s during the period of Japanese rule, but the thick, Japanese-style tonkatsu failed to gain popularity.[1] Korean: Don-gaseu became popular in the 1960s, with the spread of Korean: gyeong-yangsik—light western food—restaurants.[2] The dish, although called by the Japanese-derived name Korean: don-gaseu, followed Western pork cutlet recipes such as those of the Austrian German: [[Schnitzel]]—thinned by pounding before being breaded and deep-fried. It was not sliced, and served with bread. Western-style appetizer soup was served before the dish. Korean: Don-gaseu developed into two distinct varieties. In 1977, Korean: gyeong-yangsik-style Korean: don-gaseu with thin meat became a popular menu in Korean: gisa-sikdang—drivers' restaurant, similar to transport café, for taxi drivers—with the addition of chili peppers and kimchi as an accompaniment.[3] As Korean: gyeong-yangsik restaurants nearly disappeared, this style of Korean: don-gaseu is now commonly served in drivers' restaurants and Korean: [[bunsik]]-jip (snack restaurants). A second style of Korean: don-gaseu, with thicker meat and served sliced following the Japanese method, was made popular in 1983 by a restaurant called Korean: Myeongdong Dongaseu|italics=no. This style of Japanese: don-gaseu is now commonly served in authentic Japanese restaurants.
Korean Korean: don-gaseu is different from Japanese Japanese: tonkatsu in that it is thinner and often served unsliced, thus eaten with a knife and fork, not chopsticks, and is served with demi-glace on top of the fried meat (or in case of fish cutlet, tartar sauce on the fried fish). Common accompaniments include shredded cabbage sprinkled with ketchup-mayonnaise mixture, baked beans, macaroni salad, sweet corn, and Korean: [[danmuji]] (yellow pickled radish). Green chili peppers and Korean: [[doenjang]] (soybean paste) or Korean: [[ssamjang]] (wrap sauce) for dipping the chili peppers, Korean: [[baechu-kimchi]] (cabbage kimchi) or Korean: [[kkakdugi]] (radish kimchi), and rice with Korean or Japanese style soup can be served with the Korean: don-gaseu plate. Alternatively, bread can replace rice, in which case Western-style soup is served before the main plate as an appetizer.