Katsudon (Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl with Egg Poured Twice)
カツ丼
https://japanese-kitchen-brothers.com/pages/recipe-katsudon-pork-cutlet-rice-bowl-with-egg-poured-twice
Simmer a crisp cutlet with onion. Bind it with egg in two pours. The top stays crunchy.
👨🍳"Leftover tonkatsu is the best reason to make katsudon the next day."
Ingredients
Serves 2Cutlet
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2fresh, leftover, or store-bought
Bowl
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Sweet Yellow onion½ (about 100 g)thinly sliced
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3lightly beaten
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2 bowls (about 400 g)hot
Sauce (Local)
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Water120 ml (½ cup)
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Umami Instant dashi granules½ tsp
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Umami Soy sauce2 tbsp (30 ml)
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Sweet Sugar1 tbsp
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1 stalksliced
Sauce (Authentic)
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Umami Awase dashi120 ml (½ cup)
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Umami Soy sauce2 tbsp (30 ml)
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Sweet Hon-mirin2 tbsp (30 ml)
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Sweet Sugar1 tsp
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a few sprigs
Taste & Texture Profile
The reheated Local cutlet is softer. The fresh Authentic cutlet keeps more crunch under the egg.
Taste Profile
Texture Profile
Sensory Notes
Sweet soy and onion with a bold bonito note.
A soft bubbling under the lid.
Yellow egg over golden crust and brown rice edges.
Eat right away, while the top crust is crisp.
Clean dashi, mirin sweetness, and fresh mitsuba.
A crunch from the top, then soft egg.
Glossy half-set egg with green mitsuba.
Hot rice keeps the egg cooking for another minute.
Instructions
Warm the leftover or store-bought cutlets. A toaster oven takes 5 minutes. Cut them into 2 cm strips.
Fry the tonkatsu and rest it for 2 minutes. Cut it into 2 cm strips.
Slice the onion thin. Put half the onion and half the sauce in a small pan. Simmer for 3 minutes.
💡 One bowl at a time
A pan about 16 cm wide fits one cutlet. The egg then sets in a thin, even layer. In a big pan, the egg spreads thin and overcooks. Make each bowl in about 3 minutes.
Small pan. One bowl. Then the next.
Can I not make both at once?
The egg spreads out and turns rubbery.
Beat the eggs lightly, about 10 strokes. Some white and yolk should still show.
Lay the cutlet on the onion. Pour two thirds of the egg around it, not on top. Cover and cook for 1 minute on medium-low.
💡 The first pour is the glue
The first egg sets around the cutlet and onion. It holds the bowl together. Pouring around the cutlet keeps its top crust dry. After 1 minute, the edges are just set.
Why not pour it all over the cutlet?
The crust drinks it and goes soft.
So the egg goes where the crust is not.
Pour the rest of the egg over the top. Add the herbs. Cover, turn off the heat, and wait 30 seconds.
💡 The second pour stays soft
The last egg meets only stored heat. It warms past 60C but stops short of firm. That gives the soft, glossy layer on top. The whole bowl still stays together.
Heat off. Lid on. Count to thirty.
The egg looks raw in places.
That is the point. It finishes on the rice.
Slide everything onto a bowl of hot rice. Pour any sauce left in the pan over the top.
Did you make it?
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Why add the egg in two parts?
The first pour sets and holds the bowl together. The second stays soft and glossy on top.
Can I use leftover tonkatsu?
Yes. Reheat it in a toaster oven first. The crust firms up again before it meets the sauce.
Is the soft egg safe to eat?
In Japan, eggs are made to be eaten soft. Elsewhere, use pasteurized eggs or cook it longer.
What is the difference between katsudon and oyakodon?
Both simmer onion in sweet dashi and bind it with egg. Oyakodon uses chicken pieces. Katsudon uses a fried pork cutlet.
