Best Crispy Japanese Katsudon — Easy Authentic Recipe

Ingredients:

Preparation mode:

👉 Katsudon is a Japanese rice bowl topped with a crispy pork cutlet (tonkatsu) that is briefly simmered with onion in a sweet soy broth and finished with softly set egg. It is so popular that students traditionally eat it before exams for luck – “katsu” sounds like the word for “to win”.

🍳 How to Make Katsudon

1. Cook the rice. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and cook it in a rice cooker or pot.
2. Bread the pork. Pound the cutlets lightly to an even 1.5 cm thickness and season. Dust in flour, dip in 1 beaten egg, then press into the panko.
3. Fry. Heat 2 cm of oil to 170°C (340°F). Fry the cutlets for 3–4 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Drain on a rack and slice into strips.
4. Make the broth. In a small frying pan simmer the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar with the onion for 3–4 minutes until the onion is soft.
5. Add the cutlet and egg. Place one sliced cutlet on the onions, pour over 1 lightly beaten egg and cover. Cook for about 1 minute, until the egg is just set but still soft. Repeat for the second portion.
6. Serve. Slide everything over a bowl of hot rice, spoon over a little broth and garnish with spring onion.

💡 Tips

• Beat the topping egg lightly so you can still see streaks of white and yolk.
• Chicken cutlets make an equally good “chicken katsudon”.

❓ FAQ

What does katsudon taste like?
Savoury-sweet: crispy pork, silky egg and soy-mirin broth soaking into the rice.

Can I use leftover tonkatsu?
Yes – reheat it in the oven to crisp it up first.

👉 More Japanese recipes: browse all recipes.