Thick and beautifully marbled pork steaks are cooked Japanese katsu-style then brushed with a mixture of hoisin sauce, gochujang, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
Tonkatsu is Japanese, hoisin sauce is Chinese and gochujang is a Korean chili paste. What’s the ethnicity of this dish? Asian, definitely. And it’s just one of the many ways we serve tonkatsu at home. There are more in my arsenal but I’ll reserve those for another time. Let’s talk about this dish first.
What makes this fried pork dish different from tonkatsu? Well, it might be more logical to first point out that it is tonkatsu except that the panko-crusted pork is brushed with a thick paste that is all at once sweet, spicy and salty with a hint of nuttiness. The sweetness is provided by hoisin sauce, the heat is from gochujang, we have soy sauce and oyster sauce for saltiness and lovely umami flavors, and finally there’s sesame seed oil plus sesame seeds for that incomparable nutty taste and aroma.
But brushed? Yes, the sauce is brushed on the surface of the tonkatsu repeatedly at two-to-three-minute intervals. It’s a technique used by Bon Chon if you’re familiar with the fried chicken chain. This isn’t a fried chicken dish but the technique works just as perfectly. Brushing the sauce on the pork, as opposed to drowning the cooked meat in a bowl of sauce, means a light and even glaze.
Whether you want to try this tonkatsu variant for its tantalizing flavor profile or it’s brushing the sauce that intrigues you, you’ll have to start with the basic tonkatsu recipe which is reproduced in the recipe below.
Once your tonkatsu is cooked, lay on a rack and make the glaze by mixing together hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, gochujang and sesame seed oil.
There really is no rule here about ratio. It’s all about what you want more pronounced (my preferred formula is in the recipe). To be on the safe side, I suggest that you start with equal amounts of hoisin sauce and gochujang, then add soy sauce and oyster sauce until you get the flavor balance that pleases your taste buds. If you like the glaze to be decidedly sweet, use more hoisin sauce. Need more heat? Stir in additional gochujang. Then, drizzle in a little sesame seed oil and mix well.
When you’ve mixed the glaze, brush it on the tonkatsu. Top, bottom and sides. Leave to allow the glaze to cling to the breadcrumbs for two to three minutes, then brush a second time. After two minutes, brush a third coating.
Optionally, cut the glazed tonkatsu into strips and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.
Ingredients
Tonkatsu
- 3 large pork cutlets ½-inch to ¾-inch thick
- 3 teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko you may need more
- oil for deep frying
Hoisin-gochujang glaze
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman works well)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame seed oil
To serve
- toasted sesame seeds
- microgreens
- cooked rice
Instructions
Cook tonkatsu
- Press the pork cutlets between stacks of paper towels to remove surface moisture.
- Sprinkle both sides of each cutlet with salt and pepper.
- Prepare three shallow bowls. Dump the flour in one, crack and beat the egg in the second, and pour the panko into the third.
- Start heating enough cooking oil in a frying pan to reach a depth of three inches.
- Dredge each pork cutlet in flour; shake off the excess.
- Dip the floured cutlets in the beaten egg.
- Roll the wet cutlets in panko.
- Fry the pork cutlets over medium heat (about 325F), in batches if your frying pan is smallish, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
- Arrange the cooked tonkatsu on a rack.
Glaze the tonkatsu
- Mix together all the ingredients for the glaze until smooth. Taste and make adjustments to get the balance that you prefer.
- Using a pastry brush, coat the top and sides of the tonkatsu.
- After a minute and a half, flip the tonkatsu and brush the opposite side. Leave for another minute and a half. Repeat the brushing two more times.
Serve your tonkatsu the hoisin-gochujang glaze
- An optional but practical step is to transfer the glazed tonkatsu on a chopping board and cutting each into strips.
- Lay your microgreens on three plates.
- Place a tonkatsu on each plate and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Best enjoyed with rice.
