Name: Pork Tonkatsu with Cabbage and Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 plain boneless, intact pork loin cutlets within the guide’s thickness limit; Salt and black pepper; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 2 pasteurized eggs, beaten; 2 cups panko breadcrumbs; Neutral oil for frying; 1/4 small green cabbage, finely shredded; 1/2 cup prepared tonkatsu sauce; 4 cups cooked rice, freshly prepared for serving; 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Back to Tonkatsu (Japanese Breaded Pork Cutlet)

Last updated Oct 20, 2026

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Prep: 20 min
Bath: 2 hours
Total: 2 hr 35 min
Yield: 4 servings

Main Courseporktonkatsupanko

From the guide

Cooking settings

This recipe follows one reviewed setting from the Tonkatsu (Japanese Breaded Pork Cutlet) guide.

Bath setting: 140°F
Bath time: 2 hours
Best for: Up to 1 1/8 inches thick

Use unpounded, boneless, intact pork loin cutlets shaped like flat slabs with two broad faces and no point thicker than 1 1/8 inches. Keep the cutlets whole and unbreaded in the bath. Shoulder, tenderloin, bone-in chops, and flattened or stacked cutlets need other methods. Use plain, fully thawed meat without injection, mechanical tenderizing, added solution, brining, curing, or marinade. Season with salt and pepper only. Keep oil, sauce, citrus, wine, and other finishing ingredients outside the pouch. Verify a 41°F starting temperature and the selected bath setting with a thermometer. Seal one portion per bag in its natural shape, without folding, rolling, tying, or overlap. Measure the thickest point after trimming; do not pound or tenderize the cutlets. Fully submerge each sealed pouch in a verified, preheated circulating bath, leaving water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. The listed time is the complete bath time, including heating. Do not replace it with a center-temperature reading or add another heating interval. Use clean utensils, discard all pouch liquid, and keep cooked food away from raw-food juices, used bags, and utensils that touched raw meat. Dry the cooked cutlets. Coat with flour, pasteurized beaten egg, and panko, then fry promptly in oil at 320°F until the coating is golden and crisp. Drain briefly on a clean rack, slice, and serve immediately. Frying adds heat and can narrow the difference between the tender and firm options, especially with thinner cutlets. The crust does not replace the complete pork method. These methods cover immediate service only. Frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, and holding need separate methods. Colder or unknown starts, thicker, rounded, pounded, marinated, stuffed, folded, or tied pork is excluded. Use clean breading and frying equipment after handling raw meat. If any timed-method condition cannot be met, use a separately checked cooking method: Check the thickest center of every piece, avoiding bone, fat, and gristle; check several places in large or uneven pieces. Every measured spot must reach 145°F before finishing. Cook any cooler piece further in a skillet or oven and recheck it. Bath time, color, texture, and browning do not replace this check. Keep every piece intact through the check and finish, then rest at least 3 minutes after the final heat before cutting, pulling, or serving. Expect a firmer result. This fallback is not an extra step in a completed timed method. These timed methods do not provide advice for vulnerable diners. Read the food safety guide.

View the complete Tonkatsu (Japanese Breaded Pork Cutlet) guide →

Ingredients

4 plain boneless, intact pork loin cutlets within the guide’s thickness limit
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 pasteurized eggs, beaten
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
Neutral oil for frying
1/4 small green cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 cup prepared tonkatsu sauce
4 cups cooked rice, freshly prepared for serving
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

Prepare

Measure the cutlets after trimming and verify the starting conditions below. Do not pound, tenderize, or marinate them.
Season with salt and pepper and seal one plain cutlet per bag. Keep the coating ingredients and oil outside the pouch.

Cook

Set the water bath to 140°F.
Use unpounded, boneless, intact pork loin cutlets shaped like flat slabs with two broad faces and no point thicker than 1 1/8 inches. Keep the cutlets whole and unbreaded in the bath. Shoulder, tenderloin, bone-in chops, and flattened or stacked cutlets need other methods. Use plain, fully thawed meat without injection, mechanical tenderizing, added solution, brining, curing, or marinade. Season with salt and pepper only. Keep oil, sauce, citrus, wine, and other finishing ingredients outside the pouch. Verify a 41°F starting temperature and the selected bath setting with a thermometer. Seal one portion per bag in its natural shape, without folding, rolling, tying, or overlap. Measure the thickest point after trimming; do not pound or tenderize the cutlets. Fully submerge each sealed pouch in a verified, preheated circulating bath, leaving water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. The listed time is the complete bath time, including heating. Do not replace it with a center-temperature reading or add another heating interval. Use clean utensils, discard all pouch liquid, and keep cooked food away from raw-food juices, used bags, and utensils that touched raw meat. Dry the cooked cutlets. Coat with flour, pasteurized beaten egg, and panko, then fry promptly in oil at 320°F until the coating is golden and crisp. Drain briefly on a clean rack, slice, and serve immediately. Frying adds heat and can narrow the difference between the tender and firm options, especially with thinner cutlets. The crust does not replace the complete pork method. These methods cover immediate service only. Frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, and holding need separate methods. Colder or unknown starts, thicker, rounded, pounded, marinated, stuffed, folded, or tied pork is excluded. Use clean breading and frying equipment after handling raw meat.
Cook for 2 hours for up to 1 1/8 inches thick.
Near serving time, prepare the cabbage, rice, lemon, and sauce. Set flour, pasteurized beaten egg, and panko in separate clean shallow dishes.
Prepare a stable frying pan with ample headroom above the oil, a thermometer, and a clean draining rack. Follow the oil temperature in the guide’s method.

Finish

After the complete timed cook, discard the pouch liquid and pat the pork dry. Coat each cutlet lightly with flour, then egg, then panko.
Fry promptly in batches until the coating is golden and crisp, turning as needed. Drain briefly on the clean rack.

Serve

Slice with a clean sharp knife and serve immediately with cabbage, rice, tonkatsu sauce, and lemon.

Want another texture or thickness?

The complete guide has all reviewed settings, safety context, and finishing options.

Explore the Tonkatsu (Japanese Breaded Pork Cutlet) guide