Go Back
–+ servings
Tonkatsu sandwiches stood on end in a parchment lined dish, breaded pork cutlet, chopped greens and pickle slices between crustless white bread.
Print Recipe Add to Collection
Rate this Recipe!

Katsu Sando (Japanese Pork Cutlet Sandwich)

You fry one panko crusted pork cutlet, spoon tonkatsu sauce over the top, and press it into crustless soft white bread with a pile of slaw-thin cabbage. You get Japan's most famous sandwich in thirty minutes, and you never have to leave your kitchen to do it.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 1 sandwich (makes 2 sandwiches)
Calories: 4426kcal
Author: Kita Roberts

Ingredients

For the Pork Katsu

  • 2 boneless center cut pork loin chop (5 to 7 oz each), about 3/4 inch thick
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • about 1 1/2 cups Neutral oil for frying (enough for 1/2 inch in the pan)

For the Tonkatsu Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon honey or sugar

For the Sandwiches

  • 4 slices shokupan or soft white sandwich bread
  • 2 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 cups green cabbage shaved as thin as slaw

Instructions

Step 1: Make the Tonkatsu Sauce

  • Whisk the ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and honey in a small bowl for about 30 seconds, until glossy and one color with no streaks of ketchup left. It should pour slowly and coat the back of a spoon.

Shave the Cabbage

  • Quarter the wedge, cut out the core, and shave it slaw-thin on a mandoline or with a sharp knife. Soak the strands in ice water 5 minutes, then spin or towel them bone dry. Wet cabbage waters down the bread.

Pound the Pork

  • Lay each chop between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/2 inch. Even matters more than thin. Any spot left thicker is still raw when the edges are done.

Bread the Cutlets

  • Season both sides with salt and pepper. Set out three shallow dishes of flour, beaten egg, and panko. Flour and shake off everything loose, egg and let the excess run off, then press hard into the panko on both sides so the crumbs stand up. Let the breaded cutlets rest 5 minutes so the coating sets.
    A pork cutlet coated in seasoned breadcrumbs beside bowls of flour and beaten egg, with a second pounded and peppered cutlet waiting on the board.

Heat the Oil

  • Pour 1/2 inch of neutral oil into a heavy skillet and bring it to 340 to 350°F over medium heat. A dropped panko crumb should sizzle steadily and float within about two seconds.

Fry

  • Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side, until the crust is deep golden brown and a thermometer reads 145°F in the center. Pull them there.

Drain

  • Move the cutlets to a wire rack, not paper towels, and let them sit 3 minutes.
    Fried pork cutlets draining on paper towel beside bowls of tonkatsu sauce, Kewpie mayo and pickle chips, with crustless bread laid out with chopped greens.

Build, Wrap, and Cut

  • Spread Kewpie mayo edge-to-edge on one side of all four bread slices. Pile the dry cabbage on two of them, and set a hot cutlet on top. Spoon the sauce over the cutlet, never onto bare bread.
  • Close the sandwich, mayo side down, wrap each sandwich tightly in parchment or plastic, and rest for 5 minutes. Unwrap, cut the crusts off all four edges with a serrated knife, then cut in half or into thirds, wiping the blade between cuts.

Notes

  • Shave the cabbage thinner than you think. Chunky shreds roll under the cutlet and push the sandwich apart when you bite it.
  • The 5-minute wrap before cutting is what gives you a clean cross-section instead of a pile.
  • Wire rack, never paper towels. Paper traps steam and the bottom crust softens in about 90 seconds.
  • Sauce the cutlet, not the bread. Sauce on bare bread soaks through in about a minute.
  • Karashi (Japanese hot mustard), a thin smear under the mayo, is the standard move in Japan.
  • Chicken breast swaps in at the same thickness and timing, pulled at 165°F. That version is chicken katsu.
  • No Kewpie? Whisk 1/4 teaspoon rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar into 2 tablespoons of American mayo.
  • Fried cutlets keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat at 400°F on a rack for 5 to 6 minutes. Never microwave.
  • Breaded, unfried cutlets freeze up to 2 months. Fry from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes per side, same 145°F pull.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 4426kcal | Carbohydrates: 154g | Protein: 90g | Fat: 388g | Saturated Fat: 38g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 114g | Monounsaturated Fat: 229g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 377mg | Sodium: 5274mg | Potassium: 1850mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 653IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 453mg | Iron: 13mg