Katsudon is the perfect rice bowl and the queen of all Donburi recipes! Juicy tonkatsu pork cutlet and sautéed onions are cooked in a sweet and savoury Dashi sauce with poached eggs… Served over a steaming bowl of Japanese rice. Katsudon is my tip for a quick home-cooked meal that’s on the table in no time at all with just a few simple steps! And today I’ll show you how to cook this recipe at home.
Donburi are rice bowls piled high with a savoury topping and are among the giants of Japanese cuisine. They are the number one dish at many family meals and the mainstay of so-called teishoku, i.e. cost-effective set menus in Japanese eateries.
Today’s recipe is one of the most popular and classic types of Donburi: katsudon. It is based on soft Japanese rice with a tonkatsu pork cutlet as a topping, nestled in soft eggs and onions braised in an Umami-rich sauce. Everyone in Japan really loves this!
The dish, which originated in the early 20th century, combines Western influences with traditional Japanese techniques. The word ‘Katsudon’ is a combination of the two separate Japanese words Katsu (derived from Tonkatsu, a breaded, fried pork cutlet) and don from Donburi, which translates as ‘large bowl’.
By the way
As “katsu” is also the Japanese word for “win”, katsudon is a dish that students and athletes in Japan eat before major exams or matches. So next time you’re cooking for someone who has a test or competition coming up, you should definitely give this recipe a try!
Katsudon became particularly famous outside Japan after the recipe appeared in the popular anime series “My Hero Academia” and “Yuri!!! on Ice”. In both shows, katsudon is the protagonists’ favourite dish. Katsudon is considered a a “winner’s dish”, so it’s only natural that it’s the favourite meal of popular main characters 😉.
To prepare it, we’ll cut ready-fried tonkatsu into strips about 2 cm wide using a large, sharp knife. By the way, you can find my recipe for tonkatsu here! Next, we’ll prepare beaten eggs, onion strips and a Dashi-soya sauce mixture with Mirin.
We’ll briefly fry the onion strips in a hot pan, then pour the prepared sauce over them and simmer everything until the onion is nice and soft. Now add the tonkatsu, cut into strips, to the onions in the pan. Then add the beaten eggs. Put the lid on the pan and let everything cook until the egg has visibly set.
And that’s it. Now fill bowls with freshly cooked rice and spoon the contents of the pan on top as a topping. Garnish everything with parsley and you’re done. Itadakimasu!
As you can see, katsudon is a fairly simple dish, but there are a few tips for making the ultimate No. 1 katsudon!
So würde ich dir empfehlen, anstatt von normalem Dashi aus Bonitoflocken lieber ein Dashi aus Shiitake und Kombu zu verwenden. Einfach, weil die Grundbrühe sonst zu fischig schmecken würde und sich zu sehr in den Vordergrund drängt. Diese Dashi Brühe ist außerdem ganz einfach zuzubereiten, hier findest du mein Rezept für Dashi mit Shiitake und Kombu.
You should also let the onions simmer in the stock for a long time. This adds the natural sweetness of the onions to the dish, creating a deeper flavour!
The key to making katsudon is achieving a silky texture! That’s why you should also avoid whisking the egg too vigorously, otherwise it will become frothy and fluffy rather than silky and smooth. The result tastes fantastic and is quick and easy to prepare at home.
I look forward to hearing more about your katsudon experiences. Share your cooking tips and favourite variations with us! I’m curious to see which methods you try out and what secrets you can reveal for achieving that perfect crispiness.
Do you have any questions about the recipe or would you like to share your katsudon creations with the community? Simply leave a comment below this post. Enjoy your homemade katsudon!
Katsudon
serves 2 | 20 minutes | 861 kcal
🖨️ Print PDF 📌 Save this pinKatsudon is the perfect rice bowl and the queen of all Donburi recipes! Juicy tonkatsu pork cutlet and sautéed onions are simmered in a sweet and savoury Dashi sauce with poached eggs… Served over a steaming bowl of Japanese rice. Katsudon is my go-to for a quick home-cooked meal!
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 portions Rice (to the recipe)*
2 ready-made Tonkatsu pork cutlets (to the recipe)
2 eggs
2 onions
150 ml Dashi broth (im Shop ansehen)* (to the recipe)
5 tbsp Shoyu *
3 tbsp Mirin (im Shop ansehen)*
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil (e.g. rapeseed oil)
a little parsley – optional
Useful tools:
Santoku knife (im Shop ansehen)
Preparation (20 minutes)
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients for Katsudon and prepare the rice. In addition, the brodo Dashi should now be ready (click here for the recipe). And of course, the Tonkatsu cutlets are a must!
Step 2
Cut the cooked tonkatsu into strips about 2 cm wide using a large, sharp knife .
Step 3
Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a whisk.
Passaggio 4
Peel the onions , then halve them and cut each half into thin strips.
Step 5
Additionally, wash the parsley , pat it dry, and pluck or coarsely chop it.
Step 6
Now, for the sauce, mix the Dashi broth with soy sauce, Mirin and sugar in another bowl until the sugar has dissolved.
Step 7
In a medium frying pan (please note: we will also need a lid for the pan later) heat the oil and briefly fry the onion strips in the hot pan, then pour the prepared sauce over them. Simmer everything until the onion is nice and soft.
Step 8
Now add the sliced tonkatsu, to the onions in the pan. Then add the beaten eggs . Place the lid on the pan and cook until the egg has visibly set.
Tip: If necessary, give everything a stir in the pan now and then so that the egg sets to your liking (I prefer it slightly runny, but you can also cook it through completely).
Step number 9
Now spoon the rice into bowls and top with the contents of the pan as a topping. Garnish with parsley.
Step 10
Ready – Itadakimasu!
Are you looking for even more wonderful rice recipes from Japan? Here are a few ideas:
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