Dish guides
What is tonkatsu?
とんかつ · tonkatsu
Tonkatsu is a Japanese breaded pork cutlet: a thick slice of pork loin or fillet coated in flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs, deep-fried until crisp and cut into strips. It's usually served as a set meal with shredded raw cabbage, rice, miso soup and a thick, fruity brown sauce.
- At a glance
- Tonkatsu
- Japanese pork cutlet in panko breadcrumbs, deep-fried and served with cabbage and a thick sauce.
- Pronunciation
- Say it like tohn-kah-tsoo · IPA /toŋkatsɯ/
- Also written as
- 豚カツ, トンカツ, ロースカツ (rōsu katsu, loin), ヒレカツ (hire katsu, fillet), ロースカツ定食, ヒレカツ定食, pork katsu
What’s in it
Core ingredients
- pork loin (rōsu) or fillet (hire)
- wheat flour
- egg
- panko breadcrumbs
- frying oil
- shredded raw cabbage
- tonkatsu sauce
Often added
- rice, miso soup and pickles (teishoku set)
- karashi (Japanese mustard)
- sesame seeds to grind into the sauce
- lemon wedge
- sesame or yuzu dressing for the cabbage
Allergens
| Allergen | How likely |
|---|---|
| Gluten | Typically contains |
| Eggs | Typically contains |
| Soy | Often contains |
| Fish | Often contains |
| Mustard | Often contains |
| Sesame | Often contains |
| Shellfish | Sometimes contains |
| Dairy | Rarely contains |
| Peanuts | Rarely contains |
| Tree nuts | Rarely contains |
| Diet | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Vegetarian | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Pescatarian | No |
| Halal | No |
| Kosher | No |
| Gluten-free | No |
Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.
Loin or fillet: reading the tonkatsu menu
Specialist tonkatsu restaurants list two main cuts. Rōsu (ロース, loin) is juicier and has a band of fat along one edge; hire (ヒレ, fillet) is leaner and more tender. Menus often give the weight in grams, name the breed of pork (such as Kagoshima black pork), and offer several sizes. Teishoku (定食) means a set meal with rice, miso soup and pickles; ordering the cutlet alone is tanpin.
The cutlet arrives sliced into strips so it can be eaten with chopsticks. You pour the thick sauce over it, and some restaurants give you sesame seeds to grind in a small bowl first. Karashi mustard is served on the side. Many tonkatsu shops refill the shredded cabbage, and sometimes the rice and miso soup, at no extra charge; ask if you're not sure.
The tonkatsu family
Tonkatsu is the basis of several other everyday dishes: katsudon (simmered with egg over rice), katsu karē (with Japanese curry sauce), katsu sando (in soft white bread) and miso katsu, a Nagoya speciality with a sweet red-miso sauce. In menus outside Japan, "katsu curry" often means chicken rather than pork. Panko-fried prawns, ebi furai, are often sold in the same restaurants, which matters if you have a shellfish allergy because they usually share the fryer.
Where tonkatsu comes from
Tonkatsu is yōshoku, Japanese food inspired by European cooking. Breaded cutlets arrived in Japan in the late 19th century, and a Tokyo restaurant began serving a pork version in 1899. The thick-cut style called tonkatsu (ton means pork, katsu is short for katsuretsu, "cutlet") took shape in Tokyo around 1929.
How to order it
| Phrase | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ロースカツ定食をください。 | Rōsu katsu teishoku o kudasai. | The pork-loin katsu set meal, please. |
| ご飯のおかわりはできますか？ | Gohan no okawari wa dekimasu ka? | Can I have a refill of rice? |
| えびと同じ油で揚げていますか？ | Ebi to onaji abura de agete imasu ka? | Is it fried in the same oil as the prawns? |
Not to be confused with
- Katsudon — Tonkatsu simmered with onion and beaten egg in a sweet soy broth and served over a bowl of rice.
- Chicken katsu — The same panko coating on chicken instead of pork; often listed as chikin katsu (チキンカツ).
- Wiener Schnitzel — Austria's thin, pan-fried veal cutlet in fine breadcrumbs; tonkatsu is thicker, pork and deep-fried in panko.
Frequently asked questions
What is tonkatsu sauce made of?
Tonkatsu sauce is a thick, sweet-tangy brown sauce, similar to a fruity Worcestershire sauce. It's typically made from fruit and vegetable purées such as apple and tomato, vinegar, sugar and spices. Recipes vary by brand, and some contain soy or wheat, so check the label or ask if you have an allergy.
Is tonkatsu gluten free?
No. The pork is dusted with wheat flour and coated in panko, which is made from wheat bread, and the sauce often contains wheat too. A few restaurants offer rice-flour or gluten-free coatings, but they are uncommon in Japan, and shared fryers make cross-contact likely.
What's the difference between tonkatsu and katsu?
Katsu is short for katsuretsu, "cutlet", and can be any breaded, deep-fried meat. Tonkatsu specifically means pork. Chicken katsu (chikin katsu) and beef katsu (gyū katsu) use the same technique with different meat, and dishes like katsu curry or katsudon can be made with any of them, though pork is the default in Japan.
How do you pronounce tonkatsu?
Say tohn-kah-tsoo, with the syllables fairly even and a very light final "u": in IPA, [toŋkatsɯ]. The n before k sounds like the ng in "sing". In fast speech the last vowel almost disappears, so it can sound like tonkats.
