Tonkatsu Sandwich – Katsu Sando
Tonkatsu Sandwich or Katsu Sando, an easy to make and delicious Japanese breaded pork sandwich with cabbage and sauce.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 774kcal
Ingredients
Cabbage salad:
- 1 cup white or green cabbage 100 g, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar if necessary
- fine sea salt and pepper
Roasted panko:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 90 g
- Tonkatsu sauce:
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon fine sugar
Pork:
- 4 thin boneless pork chops Note 2
- 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour as needed
- 1 large egg
- 8 slices white bread
- 2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise as needed
Instructions
Cabbage salad:
- Shred the cabbage finely and place it into a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and knead with the hand for about one minute; this will help tenderize the cabbage.
- Dressing: Add the vinegar and the oil and mix well. Taste and add some sugar if you find it necessary. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
Roasted panko breadcrumbs:
- Roast panko: Heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan. Add the panko and fry, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
Tonkatsu sauce:
- Combine: In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients. Set aside.
Pork:
- Pound meat: Remove the fat from around the pork chops to prevent them from curling. Pound the pork chops lightly with a meat pounder. Season with salt and pepper.
- Breading station: You will need one large shallow bowl and two large plates. Place the flour on one plate, the panko breadcrumbs on another, and the egg into the shallow bowl. Beat the egg with a fork.
- Bread pork: Dredge the meat through the flour to coat. Pat the pork chops with the palm of your hand over the plate or the sink to shake off the excess flour.
- Dip the floured meat into the beaten egg. Hold the piece of meat hanging over the bowl for a few seconds to allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl.
- Coat the pork chops with the panko breadcrumbs. Press gently with your hands to secure the breadcrumbs onto the meat.
- Bake the breaded pork chops in the preheated oven between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on size. My pork chops weighed 3 oz/ 80 g and were about ½ inch/ 1.2 cm. They needed about 8 minutes in the oven. Larger pork chops that are not thicker than this, should also not take long, about 13-15 minutes. Just check by cutting one in the middle; it will be easy to see if it is cooked through.
Assemble the katsu sando:
- Bread: Remove the bread crust if desired. Smear each slice of bread with a little mayonnaise and then with some tonkatsu sauce.
- Spread some cabbage salad on 4 of the bread slices.
- Place one tonkatsu – pork chop on top and cover it with some more cabbage salad.
- Cover each slice with one of the remaining pieces of bread to form a sandwich and press lightly. Cut the sandwiches in the middle and serve.
Notes
- Cabbage salad: I always make a large batch; it keeps very well in the fridge for several days and goes well with many other dishes.
- My pork chops weighed about 3 oz/ 90 g each and were about ½ inch/ 1.2 cm thick. You can use larger, lean, boneless pork chops, but make sure that they are not thicker than ½ inch/ 1.2 cm.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 774kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 1629mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g