Katsu is a breaded and fried Japanese dish, tonkatsu is breaded and fried pork. Growing up my mom would chicken katsu with bite-size pieces of chicken, it was super labor intensive, but so delicious. Tonkatsu is traditionally served with rice and shredded cabbage, and you can’t forget the bulldog sauce. Bulldog sauce is a unique tangy sauce, Just One Cookbook has a recipe for making a homemade version if you don’t want to buy it. I don’t make a lot of fried foods because I hate dealing with all the oil and splatter, but by using an air fryer you can skip all the messy oil and this comes together much quicker! I was also very impressed by how tender and juicy the pork was with this method. Will definitely be making this again.

What’s a dish that you love to eat but never make at home?

Air Fryer Tonkatsu

Serves 4
Adapted from Cook the Story

4 boneless, center cut pork chops thin
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp olive oil
Bulldog sauce, to serve
Shredded cabbage, to serve
Rice, to serve

Before you begin, wash your hands with soap and water.

If your pork didn’t come thin cut, place pork between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to 1/2″ thickness. Season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare one wide, shallow bowl with flour, another with eggs, and a third with the panko. Add the olive oil to the panko and mix well until evenly distributed.

For each pork chop, coat in the flour, then beaten eggs, then the panko.

Place prepared pork in the air fryer, be careful not to overlap. Cook at 360°F for 6 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 6 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Pork chops should have an internal temperature of 145°F. If cooking in batches, keep finished pork warming in the oven at 180°F.

Serve with shredded cabbage, rice and bulldog sauce.