Katsudon (Pork-Cutlet Rice Bowl) Recipe (2024)

I love Katsudon, but one of the tricks to loving it is understanding that crispy is not the point. There is something incredibly filling and comforting about the texture of the breaded meat swaddled in the egg and then snuggled into the broth. I think we have something of an obsession with crispy in the US, and the truth is, it is not the only delicious texture.

My Japanese mother would pour the egg mixture around the pork, not on top. Over the years I have adapted her recipe and reserved half the cutlets to add to the top after the dish is done. That way you get the best of both.

This is confusing. Why go to all the trouble of getting crispy strips of pork cutlet only to dump a mass of uncooked eggs on them. And then broth on top of that? Can you clarify?

I don't get people complaining about an authentic Japanese dish. This is how it's done. Get over it. Maybe branch out a little and open your mind.

I grew up eating katsudon just like the one in this recipe. It is not crispy, but it is delicious and comforting. Make katsu for dinner, enjoy the crispiness, and then revel in the soft, warm, comforting katsudon made with the leftovers the next day. Also, it is said that katsudon for breakfast gives you power for the rest of the day. My mom would make me katsudon for breakfast before big exams. It's a Japanese take on bacon, eggs, and toast. It's always worked for me!

I think the only answer for you will be to try it. There is nothing like a hot, crispy, mushy, savory katsudon after last night's tonkatsu on a cold fall morning. Try a splash of sake or bourbon in the sauce with the onions. Now I have to have it.

Not just you need to fry breaded (you need to get panko!) pork, you need to prepare half cooked egg and dashi to cook this dish. The key of good katsudon is good white rice! The combination of cooked white rice and egg and tonkatsu and sweet onion and savory dashi is irresistible. So if you try this, please use short grain rice/sushi rice, not long one. As some people mentioned, at home in Japan, we fry many tonkatsu (pork cutlets) at once and next day cook katsudon or tonkatsu sandwich.

As Aaron wrote, this is what Katsudon is, found in any Japanese family restaurant or Katsu (cultet) place here in Japan. If you want crispiness, stick with Tonkatsu, and forget the other ingredients. If you read the Katsudon article in Sam's introduction, then perhaps you can understand a little more about the dish.Katsudon is favored by those who want something quick and filling.

If you repeat the egg and panko dip (a double dip) the crumbed fillets come out with an even better and crunchier coating.

2 words. Eggplant parmesan. Chef for 10 years in Manhattan.

Grew up in Hawaii, and I concur that the point is not the crunchiness in this but the incredible mix of tastes on the rice.Important: there's at least twice the amount of katsudon in the pictured bowl I've ever been served, either restaurant or at home. Half a cutlet is plenty, and check the nutrition to see why you might want to limit it. Have a chopped vegetable or grated cabbage salad on the side, with a little seasoned rice vinegar and a drop or two of sesame oil.

Because that's what Katsudon is. Try it. It's really good. You won't get the same effect if you try to keep the crispiness, and you get it if you don't make it crispy first.

My thoughts also... I would think u would want a nice crispy cutlet but then you basically steam all the crispy coating away w the cooking process and egg on top of it... I think personally I would leave the cutlet crispy on top and just cook the egg in the broth.

What can I substitute for the dashi? I have a seafood allergy.

The breading on the pork softens up and makes the broth more unctuous. But if you are a fan of the crispy texture, you can serve the pork separately on a side plate.

This was delicious. There are a lot of steps, and dishes, though. I opted to do a baked variation of the pork (pre-browning the panko crumbs in a fry pan, then baking the coated cutlets at 400 for 10 mins). Everything else was according to the recipe. I served it over steamed rice with a side of Gochuchang glaze Fried Eggplant. A definite keeper for a special dinner.

This takes a while to put together, so when you get to the last step and your brain says ‘no,’ keep going and your mouth will say ‘yes’

I did the Melissa Clarke katsu (with tomato paste and Worcestershire in the eggs) for the pork and oven fried it on a hot cookie sheet and used instant dashi base. Added some veggies as well. Super awesome!

Do take the time to find or make "Bulldog Sauce" for a little kick!

I use Trader Joe's miso ginger broth instead of making my own dashi and it's simple and delicious. I add the soy sauce and mirin directly to the broth and include a splash of fish sauce. This is a favorite meal in our house!

MmmMmm amazing, we used instant dashi powder.Next time Ill add half the cutlets to the dashi, pour the eggs next to the cutlets instead of on top, and keep the other half of cutlets on the side for serving (so they stay crispy and don’t get soggy). This was full of umami power, perfect for just me and my boyfriend!

In Mexico and improvised a lot. I also don't eat pork. The broth was challenging. I substituted dried sh*take mushrooms, that I soaked for an hour in the same amount of water in the recipe. I cooked that with a bit of sugar and white wine. I used shrimp instead of pork, following the recipe. I added the onions to the broth, and while that was cooking, I steamed broccoli and corn and added that to the broth. I added a little chili soy and tons of sliced ginger. Did the rest. Marvelously delish!

My friend, who wants me to make her this, is allergic to ginger, can I just leave it out, or is there something I can substitute for it?

Made this for family. Excellent. I neglected to read carefully and purchased dashi as well as bonito flakes and kombu. Got good education at local Japanese market. My suggestion is to make a a little extra dashi and add after egg cooked if on the dry side or to splash on top of individual servings. I found I wanted more liquid. Will add this to comfort food repertoire. Thank you.

After visiting every Asia market in my eastern NC area in my search for the first ingredient, I finally equated “kombu “ with kelp and got home with it to cook one of my favorite meals.

Instead of making dashi broth from kombu and bonito flakes I used instant dashi powder. If you're economizing this is the cheaper way to go. I also added some sauteed Chinese greens when I was assembling the bowls. I used thin pork cutlets (the Aldi where I live often has these) and lightly pounded them. Frying time was 1 minute total (30 seconds on each side).

Made this once with pork and wasn't crazy about the texture. (Probably I overcooked it.) But made it tonight with pounded chicken thighs and loved the result. I breaded the cutlets a few hours ahead of time, and used two eggs instead of four. Needed more liquid at the end to sauce the meat and rice. But delicious!

This was warm, wonderful, and comforting. It is a process to make; not difficult, but the steps are laid out in a straight forward manner. The only change I will make for the next time, is to use only one egg per pork cutlet in Step 4. And, yes.....there is Dashi stock left over. This is a bonus. Tomorrow it will become the base for Miso soup.

Serious eats blog has better recipe. NYT too dry, sauce is bland.

Worth all the fuss and tracking down the ingredients, Amazon came in handy. Can't wait to make again.