Tonkatsu Sandos with Pickled Ginger-Chili Slaw

My roommates, who also happen to be my recipe-testing guinea pigs—though they didn’t know that when they signed up to live with me—have claimed this to be the “best thing I have ever made.”

I admit, this is definitely up there with some of my personal favorite recipes. The milk bread is soft, fluffy, and has the perfect density and chew to hold up to the crispy pork. As someone who is not the biggest fan of pork, it is moist and flavorful and the exterior is perfectly crunchy. I would willingly smother the tonkatsu sauce on everything I eat for the next year — it’s sweet, tangy, peppery, and salty. Finally, the pickled ginger-chili slaw takes the sandwich to another level of flavor, adding a kick of heat and tartness along with a creamy Kewpie based dressing.

I used the King Arthur Baking Japenese Milk Bread recipe, as I have never nor will I ever claim to be a baker. My recipe can easily be shortened by buying milk bread instead of making it, but I will say, this recipe is easy and pretty fool-proof. Like, I forgot to add the dry milk powder so in the middle of the dough’s first proofing, I put it back in the mixer, kneaded in the dry milk powder quickly, and put it back in the bowl to proof, and it still turned out perfect. Also, eating the sandwich is so much more glorious knowing you baked the bread yourself.

I actually had the best Tonkatsu of my life in Barcelona, Spain, at a restaurant called El Japones Esconde. My friend who indulged in it with me and I still think about it to this day. While that sandwich will forever spontaneously and randomly occupy all of my thoughts on any given day, this one is a close second.

To time all of this, I would pickle the ginger a day ahead or at least 3-4 hours before you want to make this. Next, I would bake the bread and let it cool. You can do this the same day or a couple of days ahead—just wrap it well and refrigerate it until ready to use. Then, make the sauce and refrigerate, make the slaw and refrigerate, and finish with the pork.

Tonkatsu Sandos with Chili-Ginger Slaw

Serves 6 | Prep Time: 3 hours | Cook Time: 50 minutes

Get the Milk Bread recipe I use here!

Tonkatsu

• 3 boneless pork chops, about 2-2.5 lbs.

• 3 eggs, beaten

• 2 cups panko

• 1 cup AP flour

• 1.5 tbs. salt

• 1 tbs. Togarashi

• 1 tbs. garlic powder

• 1 tbs. onion powder

• 1/2 tbs. black or white pepper

Pound out the pork loin until you have pieces about 1/2 inch thick. Pat dry. Season with salt/pepper.

Bring a wide but deep enough to deep fry pot of canola oil to ___F.

Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Togarashi together.

Place the flour, eggs, and panko into 3 separate dishes. Season each with 1/3 of the dry seasoning. Beat the eggs.

Coat each pork loin in the flour mixture and dust off excess, then fully coat in eggs, and then fully coat in panko. Dipping back in the flour to fill in any cracks that the panko didn’t coat.

Fry until golden brown, flipping over if needed, and an internal temperature of 1__ is reached. Set fried pork on a rack lined sheet tray and season with salt immediately.

Tonkatsu Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Ketchup

• 1/4 cup oyster sauce

• 2 tbs. rice vinegar

• 1 tbs. W sauce

• 2 tsp. black pepper

• 2-3 tbs. soy sauce, depending on taste

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 tbs. fish sauce

• 1 scallion, cut in half

• 1/2 inch. knob ginger, peeled & grated

• 1 garlic clove, peeled & grated

Mix all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer to dissolve sugar. Let simmer for 5 minutes once sugar granules are dissolved, stirring often to prevent burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove the scallion, adjust seasoning if needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pickled Ginger Chili Slaw

• 4 cups Napa cabbage, thinly shaved

• 1 tbs. salt

• 3-4 small red chilis, thinly sliced into moons

• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias

• 2 tbs. minced Pickled Ginger, recipe below

• 1/4 cup Kewpie

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• 2 tsp. granulated sugar

• 1 tbs. canola oil

• 1 tbs. Pickled Ginger brine

Salt the cabbage with 1 tbs. salt. Set aside or refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess liquid.

Place the drained cabbage with all other ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine everything and coat the slaw in mayo. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pickled Ginger

• 1 large ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced into moons on a mandolin (or as thin as you can get it with a knife)

• Rice vinegar

• Sugar

• Salt

Bring the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water to a boil to dissolve the sugar and salt. Pour over the ginger slices in an airtight jar/container. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 2 weeks.

To assemble:

• Spicy Brown Mustard

• Sliced Milk Bread, each about 1 inch thick

• Pickled Ginger-Chili Slaw

• Tonkatsu Sauce

• Fried Pork Katsu

Spread mustard on one slice of bread. Spread tonkatsu sauce on another other slice of bread. Place slaw on the mustard side. Top with a pork katsu. Top with the other slice of bread, gently press down to seal it. Cut crusts off using a sharp serrated knife and slice the sandwich in half lengthwise to create a rectangle shape and reveal the center of the pork (for the perfect photo-opt of course).