Go Back
+ servings
5 from 8 votes
Katsu-don (カツ丼), is a very filling main dish. A bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu (deep fried crumbed pork cutlet), onion and beaten egg, cooked in dashi with sweet soy sauce.
Katsu-don (Pork Cutlet and Egg on Rice)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 

Katsu-don (カツ丼), is a very filling main dish. A bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu (deep fried crumbed pork cutlet), onion and beaten egg, cooked in dashi with sweet soy sauce. In this recipe you get two recipes – how to make tonkatsu and how to make katsu-don.

Prep Time and Cook Time include time to make tonkatsu. It also assumes that katsu-don is cooked one by one.

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Japanese
Serves: 2
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
Tonkatsu
  • 2 x 110g (3.9oz) pork cutlet or loin , about 1.5cm (⅝") thick (note 1)
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 egg beaten
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • Oil for deep frying
Katsu-don
  • 2 tonkatsu made as above
  • ½ onion sliced to 5mm (3/16") thick
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 x 1 cup of hot cooked rice in a large bowl
Katsu-don Sauce
Instructions
Tonkatsu
  1. Lightly pound the pork to tenderise. If there is connecting tissue separating red meat and a band of fat, cut the tissue every 2-3cm (1”). This will prevent the meat from curling when cooked.

  2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides of meat.

  3. Coat the meat with flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.
  4. Heat oil to 170C (338F) (note 2) and fry the meat for 2 minutes. Turnover and fry further 2 minutes (note 3).

  5. Turn over again and fry for 1 minute, then put aside on kitchen paper.

  6. Cut each tonkatsu into 2cm (¾") wide strips.

  7. If you are making tonkatsu for katsu-don, go to Katsu-don instructions.
  8. If you are having just tonkatsu, instead of making katsu-don, then serve with shredded cabbage (not in Ingredients) and Bulldog tonkatsu sauce (note 4).

Katsu-don
  1. Mix the Sauce ingredients.
  2. In a very small fry pan or skillet, about 18cm (7"), add half of the sauce and half of the sliced onions and cook over medium high heat.

  3. When the sauce starts boiling, reduce heat to medium and add 1 person worth of tonkatsu in the centre. Cook for 2 minutes.
  4. Beat an egg and pour it over with swirling motion from the centre towards the outer edge.
  5. Place a lid on and cook for 30 seconds or until the egg is almost cooked but slightly runny (note 5).

  6. Turn the heat off. Slide the katsu-don topping including sauce onto the rice in a bowl. 

  7. Repeat steps 2-6 to make the second katsu-don. Serve immediately.

  8. If you are using a larger fry pan to make both at once, follow the same steps but place each tonkatsu in the centre of the semi-circle area so that you can divide the katsu-don topping in half easily. (note 6)

Recipe Notes

1. You can use other cuts of pork if you like. Thickness can also vary but it should not be too thick otherwise the tonkatsu will not be covered enough in the sauce.

2. To check the temperature of the oil without a thermometer, use one of the following.

a. Drop small bits of breadcrumb into the oil. The bits will sink half way and then come up with small bubbles around them.

b. Stick a pair of bamboo chopsticks into the oil. Small bubbles appear around the chopsticks and come up constantly.

3. If your meat is thicker or thinner, the time required to fry the meat will be longer/shorter respectively. If unsure, poke the tonkatsu with a skewer or a chopstick to see if clear juice comes out.

4. For more details on Japanese Bulldog sauces, see my post, Yakisoba (Japanese Stir Fried Noodles).

5. If you prefer the egg to be well done, cook a bit longer with the lid on.

6. If you are making for 4 people at once, use a large fry pan and place each tonkatsu in each quadrant so that it is easier to divide the katsu-don topping into 4.