Tonkatsu is the Meiji-era panko-crusted pork cutlet, sliced into batons and served with shredded cabbage, miso soup, rice. Hire (lean) or rosu (fatty) is the choice.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Tonkatsu emerged in the 1890s as yoshoku Western-influenced Japanese cuisine, when chef Motojiro Kida adapted the French cotelette de porc with a panko crust. By the 1920s it was Tokyo's everyman lunch. Tonkatsu Maisen in Aoyama and Butagumi in Nishi-Azabu run the modern definition: kurobuta or branded pork, sliced thick, fried at low temperature for juiciness.
Common allergens: Gluten, Pork, Egg
Tip from the editors. Panko goes flat fast; buy a fresh box. Resting on a rack keeps the crust crisp.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Tonkatsu Maisen in Tokyo's Aoyama serves kurobuta cutlets until 22:45 nightly, the rare big-room tonkatsu open after 22:00 with cabbage and rice refills.
Try: Kurobuta hire katsu set
Tip: Last-order 22:15. Counter seating turns faster than tables; the katsu sando travels home as a midnight snack.
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