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.
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.
1 editor pick for Tonkatsu in Tokyo, ranked by editorial score. All Tokyo signature dishes · Tonkatsu across every city.