I have always enjoyed katsu, but I never realized just how many varieties there are until recently. Usually when one says “katsu” they mean tonkatsu or a fried pork cutlet that has been rolled in egg and bread crumbs (of the Japanese variety called panko). But there are actually many more kinds than just tonkatsu. Let’s take a look at several.
Tonkatsu (豚カツ or とんかつ) is the most common. It is also called rosukatsu (ロースカツ). For most restaurants, that don’t specialize in katsu, this is the only katsu offered and hence is the one you will get. If you don’t like to eat fat and gristle then you will likely be disappointed in your bites around the edges of a regular tonkatsu as the Japanese don’t cut the fat off the pork cutlet when served in this way. It seems crazy, I know, but that is how they actually like it. I don’t mind it this way, but I much prefer the next kind.
Hirekatsu (ヒレカツ) is usually still pork, but all of the fat is trimmed before battering and frying. Hire comes from the word fillet, even though fillet in English doesn’t imply fat-free, and most katsu would be considered a fillet in English. If you are given the choice of rosukatsu or hirekatsu, go with hirekatsu. It is my favorite.
Chicken katsu (チキンカツ) is what the name suggests. I have been making chicken katsu for over 20 years, but it isn’t nearly as common in Japan as pork katsu. I actually didn’t make my first pork katsu until a week or two ago, using ultra thin pork that I trimmed down to include no fat. It came out quite well. I like my chicken katsu to be cut very thin as well.
Katsudon (カツ丼) means that the katsu is over rice with egg and onion and a sweet sauce. Sometimes rice comes as a side dish if you don’t order katsudon, especially if you order a katsu teishoku, but other times it will come without rice over cabbage. The extremely thinly sliced cabbage is great (even though I’m not normally a fan of cabbage), but katsu just isn’t the same without rice.
Katsu is also frequently served with curry (katsukaree or カツカレー). Even more common is to have it with tonkatsu sauce ((トンカツソース). Bulldog is the common sauce brand and can even be found in many places in the states.
Menchikatsu (メンチカツ) can sometimes be like a hamburger patty turned into a katsu, but other times pork can be the ground meat used in menchi. The word menchi is a Japanese abbreviation of “minced meat.” Onions and other items are frequently added as well so you are never sure exactly what you are going to get with a menchi katsu if you aren’t the cook or don’t ask beforehand.
Katsu sando (katsu sandwich or カツサンド) is a katsu put between two slices of bread, usually with the crust cut off of the bread. Personally I’d prefer it if they kept the crust on and cut off the fat from the katsu.
There are also beef katsu (gyukatsu 牛カツ) and ham katsu (ハムカツ). The picture at the top of this entry is actually of a beef katsu I picked up as my bento a week ago. The place where I purchased this bento also does a cheese katsu which adds cheese next to the meat before sticking the panko on and frying.
Kushikatsu (串カツ) is a smaller katsu on a stick. Since it is on a stick nearly anything can be skewered next to the meat. Onions are frequently included, but you can find variations with just about anything.
There are many other types of katsu that have been attempted and many more that will likely be created in the future, but the above should give you a pretty good idea about most of the katsu you will encounter.
Don’t forget to look for hire katsu. You may have a hard time going back to regular tonkatsu once you try hirekatsu, but you’ll be glad to have experienced the difference.
Posted on December 16th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: food. Comments: 8
