Boom! Done! Your homemade tonkatsu sauce is ready to serve. Looks great, doesn’t it? Which one did you make? The “restaurant style” version, or the “easy homemade” version? Got a preference? Tonkatsu sauce is a sweet and tangy sauce from Japan that is traditionally served with “tonkatsu”, which are panko breaded and deep fried pork cutlets or other deep fried dishes. It was created over a century ago by a chef named Kida Motojiro and is a Japanese take on Worcestershire sauce. It is a sort of a Japanese style barbecue sauce. The sauce recipe has changed over the years, with chefs adding ingredients like tomatoes and fruit purees to make it more palatable to local consumers. What follows here are two different ways to make it. The first is more of a restaurant style tonkatsu sauce with more ingredients, which will take a bit longer to make. The second version is a homemade, easy tonkatsu sauce that you can whip together in 5 minutes from simple ingredients. This version is more like popular Bulldog Sauce so loved by Japanese diners that you can find in grocery stores. Let’s talk about how to make tonkatsu sauce, shall we? Cook the Onion. Heat the oil in a large saucepan to medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Simmer Most of the Ingredients. Add the apple, tomatoes, garlic, sake, water, salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato paste and bay leaf. Simmer about 30 minutes, then cool. Process and Strain. Next you’ll process then strain the ingredients. Your homemade katsu sauce is ready to enjoy. Whisk the Ingredients. Whisk together the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl. Serve it Up. Serve as desired with Japanese breaded tonkatsu like pork or chicken katsu or as a dipping sauce. That’s it, my friends. I hope you enjoy your new tonkatsu sauce recipe. Let me know if you make it, and how you made it your own. Did you make it more like the Bulldog brand? I’d love to hear how it turned out for you. You can freeze tonkatsu sauce for up to 6 months. Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Japanese Soul Cooking: Ramen, Tonkatsu, Tempura, and More from the Streets and Kitchens of Tokyo and Beyond, by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat (affiliate link, my friends!) Buy Bull Dog Sauce (affiliate link, my friends!)
