Tonkatsu Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is tonkotsu sauce made of? ›

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.

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.

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.

Storage. Store homemade tonkatsu sauce in a jar and refrigerate for up to 3 months.

Tonkotsu is the pork bone broth which we are centering all our love around today. Creamy and cloudy, we get to this point by boiling the bones for hours on end. As mentioned, this kind of ramen comes from modern day Fukuoka.

The simplest phonetic translation of "cutlet" to Japanese vocalizations is katsuretsu, which in turn is shortened to katsu. Add ton—the Sino-Japanese word for "pork"—to the front of that and you've got tonkatsu, or breaded fried pork cutlets (not to be confused with tonkotsu, which is pork-based ramen broth).

Tonkatsu (豚カツ, とんかつ or トンカツ, pronounced [toŋkatsɯ]; "pork cutlet") 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.

Cooking this too hot will char your delicate breadcrumbs, and cooking it too cold will give you soggy, oily katsu.

There are two main cuts of pork used for tonkatsu: hire-katsu meaning “pork fillet”, and rosu-katsu, meaning “pork roast”. Hire-katsu is made with a lean pork tenderloin, while rosu-katsu uses a richer cut of pork that comes with a strip of fat along the side.

Another advantage of tonkatsu sauce in terms of taste is it's resistant to quality deterioration and oxidization thanks to vinegar, salt, and spices. However, for best quality and longer expiration date, it's recommended to refrigerate tonkatsu sauce once opened.

What is tonkatsu sauce supposed to taste like? ›

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.

After some trial and error, fresh julienned cabbage came to be the standard garnish for tonkatsu. In terms of nutrition, the vitamin U contained in cabbage helps gastrointestinal activities, and prevents heartburn and indigestion after eating fried things.

Our sauce contains an abundance of vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, onions, carrots, apples, lemon, and prunes.

Worcestershire sauce is a fermented sauce. It starts with a base of vinegar and is flavored with molasses, sugar, onion, garlic, tamarind, and anchovies. Other flavorings, such as lemon and soy sauce, may be used depending on the brand.

Chuno Sauce (中濃ソース) is a type of brown sauce made with a blend of vegetables and fruits seasoned with sugar, salt, vinegar, and spices. It's primarily used in Eastern Japan (including Tokyo) to dip or drizzle over various Japanese foods.

The taste of tonkatsu sauce

Tonkatsu sauce has a complex flavor of sweetness, sourness, and pungency. Its sweet taste majorly comes from fruits and vegetables; sour taste from vinegar; and its spicy punch based on spices.

Tonkotsu ramen could be the poster child for the term umami, which is often referred to as the "fifth taste" — a combination of saltiness, richness, and sweetness. The broth is often described as coating the mouth and tongue, giving the eater a specific type of mouthfeel that feels almost indulgent.

Tonkotsu, which means “pig bone,” is made by boiling pork meat and bones together, thus creating a thick and hearty broth with a meaty flavor. The soup has a milky consistency much like miso, so don't get confused about which one you want to order!

While many ramen broths are gently simmered to develop nuanced, subtle flavors, tonkotsu broth is cooked at a rolling boil, giving the soup its rich body, opaque appearance, and rich texture.