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How To Make Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl!

Aug 28, 2019Last Modified: July 24, 2021

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Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl garnished with green onions and a piece of the pork cutlet held by chopsticks

My sister is Japanese, and when I told her I made Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl she mentioned that was her favorite. I'm so happy because now I can make Katsudon for her!

I'm going to Tokyo in March 2020 to participate in the marathon. I say "participate" rather than "run" because I'm totally incapable of running the whole thing! I am yearning to learn more about Japanese cuisine to prepare for this trip short term. Long term, I want to be able to impress my sister. 🙂

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 a thin pork cutlet, breaded and fried. Later it will be added to a broth 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.

soy sauce chicken broth mirin eggs pork green onions and onion
pork cutlet dredged in egg and panko
Japanese Pork Katsudon and onions
katsudon in egg frying until set

The delicious tonkatsu and egg and onion mixture is then placed on top of steaming rice in a bowl, and voila! You have your incredible katsudon!

Katsudon in Japanese Culture

Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl garnished with green onions

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!

pork cutlets on a white plate one is dusted with flour and the others have pepper sprinkled on them. Bowl of beaten egg and bowl of flour in the background

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!?

Japanese Katsudon and Rice Bowl frying

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.

Japanese Pickled Cucumber and chopsticks holding one up

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

beef and onions simmering in a sauce

Okinawan Carrots

Okinawan Carrots

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

Katsudon and Rice Bowl

Japanese Katsudon and Rice Bowl

Grace
This delicious Japanese dish is serious comfort food! Breaded pork cutlets are fried and then served with egg over rice in a bowl with a sweet and savory broth! Your whole family will love it!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • ½ lb thin cut pork loin chops approximately 4 each
  • 4 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

Instructions
 

  • Add salt and pepper to both sides of your pork cutlets, and then dust lightly with flour.
    Pork cutlets dusted 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.
    Pork cutlets with panko
  • 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.
    Frying pork cutlets or katsudon
  • 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).
    Scraping bits from the skillet
  • 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.
    onions simmering in broth
  • In the meantime, take your drained pork cutlets, and slice them into pieces as in the image. Lightly beat the remaining 3 eggs.
    Sliced pork cutlets
  • 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.
    Japanese Pork Katsudon and onions
  • That's it! Serve over hot steaming rice in a bowl and garnish with green onions!
    Japanese Katsudon and Rice Bowl frying

Notes

Enjoy this delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon Rice Bowl anytime you desire some comfort food or a taste of Japan!  Your whole family will love this yummy dish!  Garnish with green onions, and perhaps serve with some sake.  🙂
Keyword katsudon, pork, ricebowl
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David Nakase

    September 18, 2019 at 3:49 pm

    “My sister is Japanese...” raises lots of questions

    Reply
    • Grace

      September 18, 2019 at 7:41 pm

      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!

      Reply

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About Me

Hi I’m Grace! I'm married and a mom to my fur baby, Toby, and food and travel are two of my greatest passions! Since our bank account does not allow us to travel or eat out as much as we'd like, I decided I would cook delicious meals that could give us a taste of all the places we'd like to go. My goal is to get you in the kitchen, and inspire you to cook and taste delightful meals that will transport you too. Let’s throw some actual travel in from time to time, all with an emphasis on keeping your wallet full and happy as well. Let’s get cooking and let’s start exploring!! I'm excited to be on this journey with you!!

By the way most of these recipes are Toby taste tested and Toby approved!!

Chief Taste Tester Toby

Toby Chief Taste Tester

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