Name: How to Make Katsudon (Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl) At Home
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 Piece of Tonkatsu (Deep-fried Pork Cutlet); 2 Eggs; 1/2 Onion; 2 Shiitake Mushrooms; 150ml Water; 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce; 2 Tbsp Mirin; 1 Tbsp Sake; 1 Tbsp Sugar; 1 tsp Dashi Powder; 200-250g Cooked Rice

How to Make Katsudon (Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl) At Home-Japanese Taste

MainRice BowlPorkEasy30 Minute MealWeeknight Meal

Katsudon is a very popular dish featuring tonkatsu, enjoyed by both children and adults. In fact, it is considered one of the main Japanese rice bowl dishes, known as donburi. In Katsudon, tonkatsu, or deep-fried pork cutlet, and vegetables such as onions are simmered in a sweet, salty, umami soy sauce-based sauce. Beaten egg is added and cooked at the end, and finally, it is transferred on top of warm rice and served with miso soup. It is a satisfying dish that doesn't require many side dishes.

Tonkatsu holds special significance for many Japanese people. "Katsu" in tonkatsu shares the pronunciation with "katsu=victory" in Japanese, so tonkatsu and katsudon are often eaten as a good luck charm during important exams or games, with the hope of winning.

In the previous recipe, we showed you how to make tonkatsu at home.This time, we are going to demonstrate how to turn that tonkatsu into katsudon.

Once you have prepared tonkatsu, you can quickly make katsudon with just a few seasonings and ingredients. We’ll demonstrate how easy it is to prepare this dish at home, so we hope you’ll give it a try. Let us know how you like our katsudon in the comments below.

Instructions

1) Gathering the Ingredients Together

Gather the ingredients together.

Note: Our recipe is for 1 portion of katsudon. If you're making more than 1 portion of katsudon, simply multiply the measurements we provide by the number of portions you want to make.

2) Slicing the Onions, Shiitake Mushrooms and Tonkatsu

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Slice the onion, shiitake mushrooms, and tonkatsu into small pieces. Beat the eggs.

Expert's Tip

How to Make Katsudon (Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl) At Home

The choice of pot is very important to successfully deep-fry foods. The key to choosing the right pot is its depth to hold the right amount of oil, and its heat retention properties to maintain the right temperature for deep frying. It is also important to control the temperature properly during cooking and to drain excess oil from the batter to avoid failure. This pot from Yoshikawa has all of the above functions in one and is specially designed for deep frying.

3) Making the Katsudon Sauce

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Add the water and seasonings into a small frying pan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, add the sliced onions and shiitake mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes or until tender. When the vegetables are tender, add in the sliced tonkatsu.

4) Adding the Beaten Egg

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Lastly, add the beaten egg to the pan, ensuring to mostly spread it over the vegetables. Continue cooking for 1 minute, then stop the heat and cover the pan for another minute to finish cooking the egg.