Homemade Tonkatsu Sauce (only 4 ingredients!) - CJ Eats Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is tonkatsu sauce made of? ›

Tonkatsu sauce mainly consists of vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, prunes, dates, apples, lemon juice, carrots, onions, and celery. It also includes more than 10 kinds of spices along with soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.

Can you substitute tonkatsu sauce? Yes. If you don't have all the ingredients to make your own, you can substitute with tomato, Worcestershire or barbecue sauce. Otherwise, you could also shake things up by using other Japanese sauces such as takoyaki, okonomiyaki or yakisoba sauce instead.

Short for tonkatsu, katsu sauce is essentially the Japanese equivalent of Western barbecue sauce. It's sweet and tangy with an umami undertone that packs a flavorful punch. You'll usually find it served with pork tonkatsu, a popular dish of breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet with cabbage and rice.

The major difference between tonkatsu sauce and Worcestershire sauce is tonkatsu sauce is usually thicker in texture while Worcestershire sauce is spicier in taste, but both can be a great accompaniment to tonkatsu and other deep-fried dishes.

It involves coating slices of pork with panko (bread crumbs), and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu is also the basis of other dishes such as katsukarē and katsudon.

In truth, tonkatsu and tonkotsu are very different. The main similarity is that they both feature pork: Ton translates to pig or pork. But the dishes differ: Tonkatsu refers to crispy fried pork cutlets, while tonkotsu is a type of ramen made from bone broth.

The pork cutlet is deep-fried, so, naturally, it's a greasy food that's not so good for our stomach, but when it's eaten with raw cabbage, this helps aid digestion. The dietary fiber in cabbage suppresses and slows the absorption of fat and helps feed healthy gut bacteria to keep your digestive system functioning well.

The only thing to be concerned about is temperature management. Too cold, and your bread crumbs will take too long to crisp, allowing the meat to overcook. Way too cold, and they'll slough off before they can even set. Too hot, and they'll burn before the meat is done.

It is a versatile sauce that pairs well with breaded and fried foods, particularly tonkatsu, a popular Japanese dish made with breaded and deep-fried pork cutlets. It is often served drizzled over tonkatsu or used as a dipping sauce for other fried foods like chicken katsu or korokke (croquettes).

A very healthy, nutrient-dense sauce! Our sauce contains an abundance of vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, onions, carrots, apples, lemon, and prunes. The natural sweetness and sourness come primarily from the flavor of these vegetables and fruits. This sauce is made up of about 30% vinegar.

What is the best substitute for Worcestershire? ›

Balsamic vinegar, with its robust and slightly sweet flavor, stands as an excellent substitute for Worcestershire sauce. Its acidity and complex sweetness provide a different yet complementary taste to Worcestershire, creating a versatile alternative with a touch of elegance.

Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce can be substituted in equal ratios, thanks to Worcestershire's salty, umami flavors made from vinegar, anchovies, alliums, and seasoning.

It is a thick (viscosity over 2.0 pascal-second, per JAS Standard) Japanese Worcestershire-type sauce. It is similar to a brown sauce (British Isles), and can include a fish sauce, tomatoes, prunes, dates, apples, lemon juice, carrots, onions, and celery among its ingredients.

The word tonkatsu is a combination of the Japanese word ton (豚) meaning “pig” and katsu (カツ), which is a shortened form of katsuretsu (カツレツ), the Japanese version of the English word cutlet.

Traditionally, oysters are slowly simmered in water until the liquid caramelizes into a viscous, dark black-brown sauce. But to speed up the process, some commercialized versions are instead made with oyster extracts, plus salt, sugar, corn starch and caramel coloring.