Baked Tonkatsu (Japanese Panko Crumbed Pork Cutlet)

Generally, Tonkatsu (crumbed pork cutlet) is deep-fried, which means it’s packing a lot of calories and is pretty unhealthy. So instead of deep-frying it, I decided to bake it instead so the cutlet won’t absorb any oil, making it much healthier and with about 50% less calories!

Baking it is also a lot easier and will save you from having to clean up the oil and fryer after cooking. Tonkatsu is a pork cutlet, usually fillet or loin, that’s coated in cornstarch, egg, and panko (bread) crumbs then fried, and usually served with tonkatsu sauce and some cabbage.

It’s so crispy and delicious and is one of my favourite dishes to eat at Japanese restaurants in my city. However, I don’t eat it often because it’s deep-fried and I’m trying to stay healthy, but the other day I just really got a craving for tonkatsu so I thought I would try to bake it instead of frying and it worked! It was nice and crispy and tasted just as good as the fried version but without the bad oil!

Tonkatsu is great because you can eat it by itself with some vegetables or you can add it to a bunch of other dishes! One of my favourite tonkatsu variations is ‘katsu-sando’, which is the tonkatsu in a sandwich; it is sooo yummy but definitely bad for my body. Other favourite tonkatsu dishes are ‘katsu-karee’, which is Japanese curry rice with the tonkatsu on top, and also ‘katsu-don’, which is rice topped with the tonkatsu and a sweet, egg, onion, and soy sauce mixture.

Stay tuned for a near-future recipe on how to make a delicious katsu-don, but if you want to make the katsu curry then all you need to do is follow this recipe for the tonkatsu and follow my curry recipe and serve them together as one!

Baked Tonkatsu (Japanese Panko Crumbed Pork Cutlet)

This Baked Tonkatsu (Japanese Panko Crumbed Pork Cutlet) is just as crispy and delicious as the deep-fried version but with less than 50% of the calories!

3.54 from 15 votes

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 166kcal

Author: Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles

Ingredients

• ▢ 200 g thinly cut 1cm thickness Pork loin
• ▢ 2 tsp cornstarch
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 20 g Japanese panko crumb

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180c (356f)
• Cook the panko bread crumbs in a frying pan over low heat until golden brown.
• Remove the panko from the heat and set it aside.
• Wrap the pork loin in saran wrap and microwave it for 1 minute so the meat is slightly cooked.
• Remove the cling wrap and soak up the excess liquid off the pork with a paper towel.
• Put the pork on a plate and use a sifter and sprinkle the cornstarch over both sides of the pork.
• Crack the egg in a bowl and scramble it a little then dip the pork into the egg to coat it.
• Pour the panko in a shallow pan or a plate and coat the pork in it.
• Put all the coated pork cutlets on a baking tray and bake for about 10-15 minutes.
• Once baked, serve with rice, miso soup, and vegetables.

Notes

nutritional value is indication only. 

Pork cutlet is served with a bowl of plain rice and a bowl of miso soup as a complete Japanese meal. 

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 417mg | Vitamin A: 120IU | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.9mg

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