Tonkatsu Explained

Tonkatsu
Country:	Japan
Region:	East Asia
Main Ingredient:	Cutlet (pork fillet or loin), panko, cooking oil

is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. 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.

Etymology

The word tonkatsu is a combination of the Sino-Japanese word ton (Japanese: 豚) meaning "pig", and katsu (Japanese: カツ), which is a shortened form of katsuretsu (Japanese: カツレツ),^[1] an old transliteration of the English word "cutlet",^{[2] [3]} which was in turn adopted from the French word French: côtelette.^[4]

History

Tonkatsu originated in Japan during the Meiji Era in the late 19th century, a dish derived from a French dish known as côtelette de veau, a veal cutlet coated in breadcrumbs and fried in a pan with butter.^[5]

European katsuretsu (loanword/gairaigo for cutlet) was usually made with beef; the pork version was created in 1899 at a restaurant serving European-style foods named Rengatei in Tokyo, Japan.^{[6] [7] [8]} It's a type of yōshoku—Japanese versions of European cuisine invented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—and was called katsuretsu or simply katsu.^[9]

Preparation and serving

Either a or cut may be used; the meat is usually salted, peppered, dredged lightly in flour, dipped into beaten egg and then coated with panko (bread crumbs) before being deep fried.^[10]

Tonkatsu is then sliced into bits and served, commonly with shredded cabbage. It is most commonly eaten with a thick Worcestershire-style sauce called tonkatsu sauce or simply sōsu (sauce), karashi (mustard), and perhaps a slice of lemon. It is usually served with rice, miso soup and tsukemono and eaten with chopsticks. It may also be served with ponzu and grated daikon instead of tonkatsu sauce.^[11]

Variations

Tonkatsu is also popular as katsukarē served on Japanese curry, or as katsudon, simmered with egg and broth, then served on a big bowl of rice; there is also katsu rice, which is pork cutlet served on rice topped with demi-glace sauce. Another popular variation, katsu sando or pork cutlet sandwich, is said to be originated from the Isen, a tonkatsu restaurant. In the 1930s, the manager of the Isen came up with the concept, then improved it by making the sandwich smaller so that its clientele of local geishas could enjoy it without wearing off their lipstick.^[12]

In Nagoya and surrounding areas, miso katsu, tonkatsu eaten with a hatchō miso-based sauce, is a speciality.^[13]

Variations on tonkatsu may be made by sandwiching an ingredient such as cheese or shiso leaf between the meat, and then breading and frying.

Variations of katsu other than pork:

• Chicken katsu (Japanese: チキンカツ) or Tori katsu (Japanese: 鶏カツ), which uses chicken instead, often appears in Hawaiian plate lunches.
• Menchi-katsu (Japanese: メンチカツ) or minchi katsu (Japanese: ミンチカツ mince katsu), is a minced meat patty, breaded and deep fried.
• Hamu katsu (Japanese: ハムカツ ham katsu), a similar dish made from ham, is usually considered a budget alternative to tonkatsu.
• Gyū katsu (Japanese: 牛カツ beef katsu), also known as bīfu katsu, is popular in the Kansai region around Osaka and Kobe.

In general, breaded and deep-fried foods are called furai ("fry"),^[14] such as ebi-furai (fried prawn)^[14] and aji-furai (fried horse mackerel), but fried meat such as pork, beef and chicken is referred to as katsu (cutlet).^[2] Katsu and furai differ from tempura, which is not breaded^[15] and typically fried in sesame oil.

In recent years, chicken katsu curry has become extremely popular in the United Kingdom,^[16] to the point that other varieties of Japanese curry and curry sauce are sometimes referred to as katsu erroneously.^[17]

See also

• Japanese cuisine
• List of Japanese dishes – a category of deep-fried dishes in Japanese cuisine
• List of pork dishes
• Schnitzel
• Dongaseu – a Korean dish derived from tonkatsu
• Escalope

Notes and References

1. Encyclopedia: Tonkatsu. ja:豚カツ. Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition, web version (精選版 日本国語大辞典). Shogakukan. 2023-10-22. kotobank.jp. ja. "katsu" is a contraction of カツレツ ("katsuretsu")..
2. Encyclopedia: Katsuretsu. ja:カツレツ. Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Concise edition, web version (精選版 日本国語大辞典). Shogakukan. 2021-08-16. kotobank.jp. ja. cutlet. cutlet "katsu"..
3. Encyclopedia: katsuretsu . ja:カツレツ . 新修百科大辭典 . . Tokyo, Japan . Google Books . 1934-04-14 . 1934-04-05 . p262 row 4 . ja . From English word "Cutlet" (sliced meat), . Also shortened to カツ ("katsu")..
4. Encyclopedia: Cutlet. OED. 1933. Internet Archive. The Clarendon Press . Oxford, UK. 1 Corrected re-issue. 2 C. 1293. en.
5. Web site: The Roots of Tonkatsu: A Delicious Fusion of East and West October 2018 Highlighting Japan . 2023-10-22 . www.gov-online.go.jp.
6. Book: 岡田, 哲. とんかつの誕生―明治洋食事始め. 166.
7. Book: 小菅, 桂子. にっぽん洋食物語大全. 122.
8. Book: Kaneko, Amy. Let's Cook Japanese Food!: Everyday Recipes for Home Cooking. Chronicle Books. 2007. 978-0-8118-4832-9. 101.
9. Book: A companion to the anthropology of Japan. Wiley-Blackwell. 2005. 0-631-22955-8. 421. Jennifer Ellen Robertson.
10. Book: Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. 240. Shizuo . Tsuji. M. F. K. . Fisher . Kodansha International. 2007 . 978-4-7700-3049-8.
11. Book: Ono . Tadashi . Salat . Harris . Japanese Soul Cooking: Ramen, Tonkatsu, Tempura, and More from the Streets and Kitchens of Tokyo and Beyond . 2013 . Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale . 9781607743538 . 21 July 2020.
12. Web site: From geishas to the world: Katsu sando, then and now . 2022-09-28 . 2023-12-09 . . Oba . Yumi . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101003429/https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/from-geishas-to-the-world-katsu-sando-then-and-now/lqg6wgkvs . 2023-11-01 . live . Australia . en.
13. Web site: 名古屋国際センター | Nagoya International Center. 2013-01-02. 2019-06-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20190610071028/http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/629. dead.
14. Encyclopedia: Furai (ryouri) . Encyclopedia Nipponica web version . Shogakukan . 2021-08-16 . constantly updated . ja . Fry (cooking) . (rough translation): In Western cuisine, "frying" means to deep-fry or sautee in oils or fats. In Japan, "furai" refers to foods that are dipped in wheat flour, beaten egg, bread crumbs and then deep-fried, . If the ingredient is meat, it is called "chikin katsuretsu", "pōku katsuretsu (tonkatsu)" etc., respectively. . ja:フライ (料理) . kotobank.jp.
15. No panko appears in definition of tempura: Encyclopedia: Tempura . Digital Daijisen (デジタル大辞泉) . Shogakukan . 2021-08-16 . constantly updated . ja . (rough translation): 1. dipped in batter made of wheat flour, egg and water, then fried in vegetable oil. Vegetable tempuras are sometimes distinguished and called "shōjin-age". . ja:天麩羅 テンプラ . kotobank.jp.
16. Web site: Hargreaves . Clare . 2019-10-09 . Forget tikka masala - chicken katsu is the new true British national dish . 2023-08-08 . inews.co.uk . en.
17. Web site: 2020-02-12 . The U.K. thinks Japanese curry is katsu curry, and people aren't happy about it . 2023-08-08 . SoraNews24 -Japan News- . en-US.