tonkatsu -pork cutlet
So, you’re craving Japanese, but you don’t really fancy the entire raw fish line up. What should you eat? If you don’t what sushi or sashimi per se, there is always that middle ground between Asian and Western. A lil bit of the East.. a lil bit of the West.. I am talking about Tonkatsu, of course!
Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) was invented in the late 19th century, and is a popular dish in Japan. It consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet one to two centimeters thick and sliced into bite-sized pieces, generally served with shredded cabbage and/or miso soup. Either a pork fillet or pork loin cut may be used; the meat is usually salted, peppered, dredged lightly in flour, dipped into beaten egg and then coated with panko (breadcrumbs) before being deep fried. This hearty dish is usually topped with Worcestershire or special Tonkatsu sauce to taste, and garnished with Wagarashi, Japanese hot mustard. Tonkatsu may be inherently Western, but it goes quite well with miso soup and rice, and is generally served in convenient bite sizes that can be plucked up easily by chopsticks. Here at Tonkatsu ( by Wa Kitchen, named after the dish, surprise-surprise!), you are encouraged to grind your own sesame seeds and add the sweet sauce to taste. The resulting paste is aromatic and complements the pork cutlet to prefection. It really brings out the aroma in the meat.
For those who love all things “cutlet”, there are plenty of dishes made using tonkatsu. Aficionados can enjoy katsu-don (pork cutlet rice bowl), katsu curry rice (curry and rice with pork cutlet) or katsu-sando (pork cutlet sandwich). Whatever form of hankering, if you are big on pork meat, then tonkatsu will definitely fit the bill;)
grind it
Here you see my hand model, preparing the dipping sauce! Tonkatsu is most commonly eaten with a type of thick Japanese Worcestershire sauce that uses pureed apples as a principal ingredient and is called tonkatsu sauce and often with a bit of spicy yellow karashi (Japanese mustard) and also a slice of lemon
pour it
mix it
ta-dah!
pork belly with ginger sauce
Dipping the fatty pork into the Tonkatsu sauce, enhanced the flavour of the meat
Rice is a must!
Set meals here cost around RM20 – 30 bucks, and all the tonkatsu sets come complete with side dishes of miso soup, rice, tofu & pickled veggies. Check out the miso soup. We we totally impressed with the amount of chicken, carrots, mushrooms and even japanese seaweed jelly in the miso soup. Definitely a bargain eating here.
Lot 6.12, Level 6, Pavilion KL
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur, 50480
03-2144 2292
Finally this has reached our shore!
Was stuffing my face with it when I was at a Bangkok katsu restaurant which famously displayed its 20cm long shrimp done in this style.
Love !!!
20cm anything is pretty impressive… hahaha 😛 AHEM!
That’s a really cool idea that Tonkatsu encourages you to grind and mix your own sauce! The exquisite descriptions and photos have got me feeling hungry!
hah! time for sume grub then:P
Mark, call me lazy but I’d rather not have to make my own sauce.. tiring! haha
Thank goodness it’s not sushi!! I don’t like seaweed and rice. So it’s good to see something from Japan that’s not like that.
You should go to Japan!!!
Dave, I have.. many times:P haha And why don’t you like sushi?! it’s good for you la:P
Nice to see some tasty looking Japanese variety, though I do still love sushi 😉
Me too! Everything has its place i say. Some days sushi.. some days tonkatsu;)
Foods aside, that looks like Su Yin from Delectable by Su? 😀
Certainly looks like her luscious, delectable lips there… 😉
YEAhhh…. was me with the signature mole on the left hehe
BINGO!
yes there’s always some of those days dat i dnt crave for sushi / sahimi but those tenpura! 😀
mmmm! agree
i like, but i’m so lazy to grind the sesame seeds for the sauce! will your hand model offer free grinding services for your friends? (hmmm, hope that doesn’t sound wrong!) 😀
Sean, I am sure Su will be more than obliging if you buy her dinner:P
OMG, hungry for Japanese food now raw and fried (love Tempura). Hard to come by a good one in Paris tho. Yummm!
Marlys.. come to KL- plenty here. Or better yet , visit Tokyo!
Had it last Sat when I was staying over at Marriot. Lovely – crisp & tender. 2nd round soon!
The more rounds, the merrier!
Tonkatsu.. thanks for teaching this term. I’m not big on the naming, but i love to eat these though. Especially for Isaac who don’t really know how to take raw fish, these cutlets are awesome!
woohoo! yeah baybeh!
Nice find! Seldom dine in Pavilion coz they’re always too expensive but this looks like a reasonable joint that I wouldn’t mind trying! Let’s go!! 🙂
I agree. The sets are definitely value for money.
Wait, where are they? I went last two weeks, but did not see any Tonkatsu or new Jap restaurant there.
Not bad, esp the sesame seeds grinding part.
Further along from Delectable Su’s shop;)
I like rice and seaweed but I’ve not had Tonkatsu in a long long time.
I love Tonkatsu! My sister makes a mean tonkatsu. Love it with shredded raw cabbage and bulldog sauce. YUM!
hey- same with sesame seeds! Sometimes I have cravings for them. 🙂 Nice photo as usual..!
I love how you give us the glimpse of Tonkatsu history in the beginning and then lead us to the yummy part. Great sauce photos too. It’s always one of my favorite dishes too I won’t lie but I have it at least twice a month. haha
am craving for this in all sudden. i just can’t wait to travel down here!!!
set meal available for lunch and dinner too?