When I told my sister that I made Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl she mentioned that was her favorite. That made me super happy to know that now I could cook her favorite dish!
Katsudon is one of the most famous Japanese rice bowls! You will love and enjoy the rich umami flavors of this delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl recipe!
Where Does The Name "Katsudon" Come From And What Is It?
Katsudon is a very popular Japanese dish. It gets its name from "donburi" which means rice bowl dish, and "tonkatsu" which means pork cutlet.
So katsudon is pork cutlets, breaded and fried. Later it will be added to a sweet and savory sauce which is comprised of mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and dashi or chicken stock. Onions are cooked in this broth, and then the tonkatsu is placed on top of the onions. To finish, beaten egg is added around the tonkatsu and onions and cooked until set.
The delicious tonkatsu and egg and onion mixture is then placed on top of a steaming bed of rice in a bowl, and voila! You have your incredible katsudon!
So let me tell you what ingredients you will need to make this delicious katsudon for yourself!
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make katsudon:
- ½ lb thin cut pork loin chops approximately 4 each
- 4 large eggs 1 for breading the pork, 3 reserved
- 3 tablespoon flour for dusting the pork cutlets
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs I used Kikkoman
- ¼ - ½ cup olive oil plus extra if needed
- 1 sliced onion (sliced thinly)
- 3 ts mirin I used Aji-Mirin from Kikkoman
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce I used Kikkoman
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 1 ts sugar
- 2 green onions sliced
- Cooked hot steamed rice
You may be familiar with and have most of these ingredients in your pantry and should be able to buy most ingredients at your grocery store. One ingredient that you may not have is mirin. Mirin is similar to sake. It's an essential ingredient in Japanese cooking with a lower alcohol content than sake but with a higher sugar content. You can buy mirin at your Asian market or here on Amazon.
Instructions To Make Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
Making katsudon takes a little time but it's totally worth it!
Start by adding salt and pepper to both sides of your pork cutlets, and then dust lightly with flour.
Next, lightly beat one egg. Place the beaten egg in one container, and place the cup of panko in a separate container. Dip each cutlet into the egg, allowing the excess to run off.
Then dip both sides into the panko, covering both sides with the bread crumbs. Prepare your onion by thinly slicing it and set aside.
Heat up your oil in a skillet or frying pan (cast iron preferred) over medium high heat. You can start with ¼ cup of oil, and add additional if necessary. Once the oil is hot, place your cutlets into the skillet, and fry both sides for approximately 4-5 minutes each or until both sides are golden brown. Keep an eye on them and turn as necessary to prevent from burning. Once cooked drain on paper towels.
Turn down to medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat source, and then scrape and remove the bits from your skillet (there is likely to be panko etc in the pan).
Make your broth: mix the chicken broth, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Add to the skillet (after bits removed) and then add your onions, and allow to simmer for around 2-4 minutes until slightly softened.
In the meantime, take your drained pork cutlets, and slice them into pieces as in the image. Lightly beat the 3 remaining eggs.
Add the sliced pork cutlets to the top of the onions that are simmering in the broth. Then add the lightly beaten eggs to the skillet, pouring around the cutlets. Keep the heat around medium or medium low, and continue to cook until the egg is set. Cover the skillet to help it along.
Your Katsudon is finished once the egg is set! Now serve it over hot steaming rice in a bowl and garnish with green onions!
Katsudon in Japanese Culture
So I discovered that this donburi was actually created by a Japanese high school student in the 1920's. It is considered a kind of comfort food in Japan, and it has become tradition for students to eat it the night before major exams, as the word "katsu" also means "to win." 😊
Apparently there is also a connection between katsudon and Japanese police films. It seems that people believe that suspects will confess once they've eaten katsudon, so there are scenes in films discussing serving katsudon so that suspects will speak the truth. Check out this article called "Katsudon Confessions." 😊
Katuson is Delicious Comfort Food!
Katsudon is delicious, whether eating before an exam, during interrogation, or when you desire some serious comfort food! You might find it a little fiddly to make when it comes to breading the pork cutlet, but overall it's super easy to create in your kitchen!
The broth is a mixture of salty and sweet flavors, and the fried pork cutlet just simply satisfies. And egg? Who doesn't love egg as part of a meal!?
To conclude, I hope you will try this recipe for Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl! Your whole family will love it!!
You may also be interested in how to prepare a Japanese pickle, which are a mainstay of Japanese meals! Please see this recipe for an easy Japanese Pickled Cucumber, which is super light and refreshing.
Shokuji o o tanoshimi kudasai!!
食事をお楽しみ下さい！("Enjoy your food" in Japanese) 😊
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 😊
Cheers!
Grace
Japanese Katsudon and Rice Bowl
Equipment
- skillet or cast iron pan with a cover
Ingredients
- ½ lb thin cut pork loin chops approximately 4 each
- 4 ea large eggs 1 for breading the pork, 3 reserved
- 3 tablespoon flour for dusting the cutlets
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup panko I used Kikkoman
- ¼ - ½ cup olive oil plus extra if needed
- 1 onion sliced thinly
- 3 ts mirin I used Aji-Mirin from Kikkoman
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce I used Kikkoman
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 ts sugar
- 2 green onions sliced
- 6 cups steamed rice cooked
Instructions
- Add salt and pepper to both sides of your pork cutlets, and then dust lightly with flour.
- Lightly beat one egg. Place in one container, and place the cup of panko in a separate container. Dip each cutlet into the egg, allowing the excess to run off. Then dip both sides into the panko, covering both sides with the bread crumbs. Thinly slice your onion and set aside.
- Heat up your oil in a skillet (cast iron preferred) over medium high heat. You can start with ¼ cup of oil, and add additional if necessary. Once the oil is hot, place your cutlets into the skillet, and fry both sides for approximately 4-5 minutes each or until both sides are golden brown. Keep an eye on them and turn as necessary to prevent from burning. Once cooked drain on paper towels.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Remove the pan from the heat source, and then scrape and remove the bits from your skillet (there is likely to be panko etc in the pan).
- Make your broth: mix the chicken broth, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce together. Add to the skillet (after bits removed) and then add your onions, and allow to simmer for around 2-4 minutes until slightly softened.
- In the meantime, take your drained pork cutlets, and slice them into pieces as in the image. Lightly beat the remaining 3 eggs.
- Add the sliced pork cutlets to the top of the onions that are simmering in the broth. Then add the lightly beaten eggs to the skillet, pouring around the cutlets. Keep the heat around medium or medium low, and continue to cook until the egg is set. Cover the skillet to help it along.
- That's it! Serve over hot steaming rice in a bowl and garnish with green onions!
David Nakase
“My sister is Japanese...” raises lots of questions
Grace
Hi David, we have a multi-national family. I am Korean-American, and my sister (or you could say step-sister but I call her sister) is Japanese. Hope that explains things! I hope you like this recipe for Japanese Pork Katsudon. Thanks for commenting!