Aaron, that’s a great idea! I never thought of making Tonkatsu with ground pork. I’m definitely gonna’ give that a try!  I’ll try making chicken katsu with ground chicken too.

thanks for a great post!

Diner A, you got it!

Milo, care to share that “secret recipe”? If so, shoot me an eMail! But wow, to say Bull Dog “sucks” means you must have quite particular tastes. All I know is Bull Dog and Ikari are pretty darned close to how it tasted from that Tonkatsu Shop in Tokyo we frequented.

Deanna, as a side note, someone asked me once how Tonkatsu Sauce differed from steak sauce (oh, like A1), and I found that difficult to answer. All I know is they’re not really interchangeable when it comes to the actual pairing of the two types of meats. I mean, they’ll work with the “other meat”, but neither are as complimentary to it as the what they were designed for. Interestingly, Kikkoman USA packages their condiment-sized Tonkatsu Sauce (same stuff as shown in the bottle here in packet form) and label it as “Steak Sauce”. Go figure.

Marcus, hope your “requirement” got fulfilled!

Kimo, personally I’m not one for Katsu leftovers. As with anything deep-fried, it’s just gotta’ be eaten fresh outta’ the fryer. That’s why I always try to make only what I know we’ll consume for the meal at hand. No extra.

Spotty, I bought my 12″ cast iron skillet pre-seasoned from the factory. It’s the Lodge brand. I don’t see why yours should take so long even if it’s not. A good rub-down with oil and some heat and it should be good-to-go. I gotta’ say, that cast iron skillet will probably outlive EVERY other piece of cookware and major appliance in the kitchen. The whole house could burn down and that cast iron skillet would still be left standing. TOUGH STUFF! It’s good to see the Lodge brand is still manufacturing excellent quality cast iron “old school” cookware, and they’re really reasonably priced!

Debby, to the best of my knowledge, the Bairin Tokusen brand can only be purchased directly from Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin restaurant, which there’s one in Waikiki. Other than Milo, I knew there’d be lots of Bull Dog fans here.

Raph, yeah, it was “epic” alright. So epic it almost hurt! lol

@dkmashino, if you look closely at the package of Hituji brand course panko I have pictured, it says “with butter and honey”.

Kasey, no I haven’t been to Rock ‘n Sushi on Ward yet. They’re still there though! Been long time now. Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin serves their tonkatsu with the sauce along with sesame seeds separate on the side served in a mortar & pestle. What you’re supposed to do is grind up the sesame seeds a little to bring out the oils and flavors. Then you dip your tonkatsu in the sauce, then in the sesame seeds. It’s quite tasty I gotta’ say. I didn’t do it for every bite, but as an option to the Tonkatsu dining experience, it’s quite nice!

Marvo, you’d be surprised how “light and delicate” foods taste when sauteed or deep-fried in lard. Not greasy or heavy at all. At least the one I use. Perhaps the hydrogenated stuff might leave a different impression.

Kat, I actually called Kaffee Imperial Tonkatsu House the other day just to make sure they were still there. They must have a loyal following to survive this long being so hidden where they’re at. I really got to get there soon!

hapabento, I think if a customer went into an Tonkatsu specialty shop and asked the server for ketchup, and the chef seen them put it on their tonkatsu, he/she would probably get kicked out.