Best Tonkatsu Recipe and Useful Vocabulary List – Where to buy the ingredients

Tonkatsu, also known as Japaese pork cutlet is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with panko, frying them in oil, and then serving with rice and shredded cabbage. There are different ways to enjoy tonkatsu but today, let’s try making the most basic tonkatsu.

Today, let’s try making Tonkatsu とんかつ!

Ingredients (材料) – 4 servings

  • 4 slices of pork loin (100g per slice)
  • 1 egg
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups of breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • A pinch of pepper
  • Appropriate amount of oil for frying

Sides:

  • 4 slices cabbage
  • 8 small tomatoes
  • Tonkatsu sauce if needed

Step by Step Procedure

  1. Cut the grains of the pork. The muscle that connects the lean meat to the fat might shrink during heating and the entire meat will not be cooked evenly. To prevent, stick the tip of the knife into a few places where the grains are and cut them off.
  2. Tap the meat with a meat tenderizer (or the bottom of a glass if you don’t have one) and push it outward. The meat will become tender.
  3. Return to its original shape. Gather together with both hands so that the thinly spread meat returns to its original thickness and shape.
  4. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the 4 pieces of pork. Coat every pieces of pork with flour and shake off if excessive.
  5. Prepare two bowls, one on the left and the other on the right. For the bowl on the left, beat the egg and mix in 1 tablespoon of water. Put the breadcrumbs in the right bowl. Hold the pork with your left hand, dip both sides in the egg mixture, and then place it directly on the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle breadcrumbs all over with your right hand.
  6. Place in deep-frying oil at 170℃. When the oil reaches about 170°C (when breadcrumbs are added, they will bubble and scatter, but not brown), add the pork from step 5.
    • If you touch it immediately with a chopstick, the crumbs will come off, so hold it for 20 to 30 seconds until the surface hardens.
  7. Turn over. When the crumbs are crispy and swimming in the oil, turn the pork over. 4-5 minutes later, the pork is browned and the bubbles have reduced in size.
  8. Drain off the oil and pull out. Lift up the pork, dip the bottom edge in oil and stand it up, the oil will drip down.
  9. While pork is resting, finely shred the 4 slices of green cabbage
  10. Soak in ice-cold water and drain the cabbage well.
  11. Slice the 8 small tomatoes into half.
  12. Cut each tonkatsu into finger-sized pieces and serve on places with shredded cabbage and sliced small tomatoes on the side.

【Vocabulary List】

KanjiHiraganaEnglish
豚ロース肉ぶたろーすにくPork loins
たまごEgg
パン粉ぱんこBreadcrumbs
小麦粉こむぎこFlour
しおSalt
胡椒こしょうPepper
揚げ油あげあぶらDeep-frying oil

Where to buy the ingredients

Although Japanese convenience stores have variety of items available, to buy fresh and wider variety of products, visiting grocery stores is a must. Japan offers a variety of grocery store chains where you can easily do most of your grocery shopping. AEON, Seiyu, Ito-Yokado, Life, and Inageya are among them.

  1. Aeon Supermarket

This supermarket is widely available around Japan and world, having about 19,200 stores. One of the big AEON supermarkets in Tokyo are in Shinjuku, Yokohama, and Shinonome near Odaiba. Here is a link to search for nearby AEON stores: https://www.welcome-aeon.com/storesearch/

2. Seiyu

Seiyu is a very popular and well-known supermarket in Japan, having more than 300 stores around. Perhaps, you can imagine that there is Seiyu supermarket nearby almost all major train stations in Tokyo. Seiyu offers wide range of products and known for affordable meat availability. Here is a link to search for nearby Seiyu supermarkets: https://www.seiyu.co.jp/searchshop/

3. Ito-Yokado

At Ito-Yakado, you can buy everything including foods and drinks, cosmetics and drugs, living goods, fashion items, and other high-quality products that are only available in Japan. Ito Yokado stores in Tokyo are located in the family-friendly areas on the outskirts of the city. Here is a link to where you can find Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Tokyo. https://www.itoyokado.co.jp/special/global/en/shops/tokyo/

4. Life

Life is also one of the largest supermarkets in Japan with easy accessibility. Also, it has variety of both fresh and manufactured goods, so if you are looking for home cook materials, Life supermarket would have most of them available! Here is a link to list of Life supermarkets in Tokyo: http://www.lifecorp.jp/store/syuto/index.html

5. Inageya

Inageya is a prominent grocery brand in Tokyo. They primarily sell groceries, but they also sell some kitchen supplies and daily essentials. They are well known for its freshness of vegetable, fruits, and also bread. In addition, Inageya also sells a few kitchens basic tools, such as pans or cooking utensils. So, if you need to buy both kitchen tools and groceries, Inageya would be right for you! Here is a link to a list of Inageya supermarkets in Tokyo: https://stores.inageya.co.jp/#PREF13000

You can check out more details in this blog! Check it out!

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