Tonkatsu Sauce: Flavor, Uses and a Mix-It-Yourself Recipe
Tonkatsu sauce is a thick, sweet-tart brown sauce from Japan that you serve with the breaded pork cutlet tonkatsu. It is based on a Worcestershire-style seasoning sauce that producers thicken with fruit and vegetable purée, sugar, vinegar and spices.
Fact sheet
- Also known as
- Katsu-Sauce, Tonkatsu Sōsu, とんかつソース
- Origin
- Japan, entwickelt aus der Worcestershiresauce
- Taste
- fruchtig-süß, säuerlich, würzig, dickflüssig
- Substitute
- Ketchup mit Worcestershiresauce, Sojasauce und etwas Zucker; Okonomiyaki-Sauce
- Storage
- ungeöffnet im Schrank, geöffnet im Kühlschrank mehrere Wochen bis Monate
- Where to buy
- Asialaden (japanisches Regal), Onlinehändler für japanische Lebensmittel
What does tonkatsu sauce taste like?
The first impression is fruity and sweet, followed by vinegar acidity, a light spiciness of clove, cinnamon or pepper, and a salty undertone. The consistency recalls thick ketchup. On hot, crispy meat it stays put and does not run into the breading.
Compared with British Worcestershire sauce, it tastes rounder and less sharp. Compared with ketchup, the strong tomato note is missing, but it has more depth and a clear acidity.
Origin and production
Worcestershire sauce came to Japan in the late 19th century. Japanese producers developed their own, thicker versions from it, which are simply called "sosu" in Japan. Tonkatsu sauce is the thickest level of this family. Typical ingredients on the label:
- vegetables and fruit such as tomato, apple, onion, carrot, plum or date
- sugar or glucose syrup
- spirit vinegar
- salt, soy sauce and spices
- starch as a thickener
Types and related sauces
At an Asian grocery store, several bottles with similar labels often stand side by side. The differences lie in thickness and sweetness.
| Sauce | Consistency | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Worcester sosu | thin | croquettes, fried food, seasoning |
| Chuno sosu | medium | all-purpose sauce, fried food |
| Tonkatsu sauce | thick | tonkatsu, menchi katsu, ebi fry |
| Okonomiyaki sauce | thick, sweeter | okonomiyaki, takoyaki |
A note on the term "katsu sauce": in Britain and in many recipes online, "katsu sauce" means the Japanese curry sauce you eat with chicken katsu curry. That is a different sauce. When a recipe asks for "katsu sauce," check whether it means a brown fruit sauce or a curry.
How to use it in the kitchen
Classically, tonkatsu sauce goes next to tonkatsu with finely shredded cabbage, rice and miso soup. Many Japanese people mix some toasted, ground sesame into a small dish of sauce and dip the meat in it.
It suits almost anything breaded and deep-fried:
- Menchi katsu, fried ground meat cutlets
- Ebi fry, breaded shrimp
- Korokke, Japanese potato croquettes
- Chicken katsu, if you eat the chicken without curry
- Katsu sandwiches made with toast, cutlet and cabbage
For katsudon you do not need the sauce: there the cutlet cooks in a broth of dashi, soy sauce and mirin. For okonomiyaki you can use tonkatsu sauce if you have no okonomiyaki sauce at home. Stir in a teaspoon of honey then.
The bottle finds work outside Japanese cooking too. Try the sauce with meatballs, fried potatoes or a Wiener schnitzel if lemon alone is not enough for you. Stirred one to one with mayonnaise, it becomes a dip for fries and fried vegetables. As a barbecue sauce, brush it onto ribs or chicken in the last few minutes, because the sugar burns otherwise. In a quick pan with yakisoba noodles, cabbage and pork, it replaces the special yakisoba sauce.
On amounts: allow two to three tablespoons per portion of cutlet. Pour the sauce in stripes over the sliced meat or serve it in a small dish alongside, so the breading on the remaining pieces stays crisp.
Mixing tonkatsu sauce yourself
You stir together a quick version for two people from ingredients that are in many kitchens:
- Put 3 tbsp ketchup in a small bowl.
- Add 1 to 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce.
- Stir in 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar or honey.
- Taste: if it is too sweet, a splash of vinegar helps. If it lacks depth, add half a teaspoon of oyster sauce.
The mix tastes a bit more of tomato than the store-bought sauce. With a teaspoon of finely grated apple you get closer to the original.
Allergens, buying and storage
Read the label if you need to watch for allergens. Many tonkatsu sauces contain soy and wheat via the soy sauce. Worcestershire sauce often contains anchovies, so the homemade version then contains fish. Oyster sauce contains mollusks.
You can find tonkatsu sauce at an Asian grocery store on the shelf with Japanese sauces, usually in plastic bottles with a pointed cap. Well-stocked supermarkets rarely carry it. Online it is available from shops for Japanese food.
Unopened, it keeps in the pantry until the best-before date. After opening, the bottle belongs in the fridge. There it stays good for several weeks to a few months, and the maker usually gives the period on the label. Use homemade sauce within a few days.