For The Crispiest Tonkatsu, Avoid This Easy Mistake

Not to be confused with tonkotsu, tonkatsu is a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet that's among Japanese cuisine's most globally beloved and comforting dishes. As a breaded and fried food, a super crispy crust and tender interior is the textural goal all chefs strive for with tonkatsu. To achieve the crispiest version of this dish, we've consulted Lucy Seligman, restaurant critic, food historian, writer, and the owner of Lucy's Kitchen cooking school. Seligman's cookbooks "The Wonderful World of Osechi: Japanese New Year's Recipes" and "Easy Japanese Recipes for the Home Cook" are available for purchase, both through Kindle and softcover on Amazon. However, you can also receive a wealth of free recipes, like these Japanese salad dressings, by subscribing to Thanks for the Meal. 

Her cookbooks and blogs go into detail on cooking techniques as well as the fascinating history behind each dish. But, when it comes to frying tonkatsu, she focuses on one big mistake you can easily avoid. "Don't crowd the pot by putting in too many tonkatsu all at once. Cooking in small batches allows the oil to maintain its temperature. Same for tempura or any deep-fried preparation." The success of deep frying for a crispy, never-mushy crust is to ensure that each piece of food isn't touching or overlapping in the frying basket or skillet. Lowering the temperature of the oil results in undercooking and uneven cooking. Increasing cooking times to remedy lower oil temperatures leads to excess oil absorption and disappointingly soggy tonkatsu.

Overcrowding the frying pan is a mistake that you can avoid by simply frying your tonkatsu in small batches. However, there are plenty of other steps you can take in your quest for that golden, crispy breaded exterior. Because the key to proper frying is to maintain a precise temperature, tools like a candy thermometer and a cast iron skillet will help you keep tabs on the temperature and keep the temperature from fluctuating. A wide and deep frying pan like this one will allow for larger batches without overcrowding while also preventing spillage or splatter for a mess-free frying experience.

How you compose the batter or breading for tonkatsu is also crucial to optimize its crunchiness. Panko breadcrumbs are the best type of breadcrumbs for a crispy tonkatsu crust. A trick to get the thickest coating of panko is to bolster your egg wash with a spoonful or two of flour since a heavier egg wash can support and draw more breadcrumbs. You can also swap wheat flour for cornstarch as the first dry dredging to enhance crunch.

Tonkatsu needs that shatteringly crispy exterior to stand up to the traditional sauce you'll drizzle over it before placing it atop a bed of steamed white rice. Tonkatsu sauce is simple blend of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. You can also purchase this bulldog tonkatsu sauce we use in our pork tonkatsu recipe, or swap it for Japanese brown curry.