Recipe: Hearty Katsudon & Matching Table Setting
Written by Team MUSUBI
Have you ever had a favorite dish you wanted to recreate at home, but something always got in the way? Maybe you searched for the recipe once or twice, but it never quite clicked. It wasn’t detailed enough, the steps felt overwhelming, or it was just hard to picture pulling it off in your own kitchen.
Katsudon might seem like one of those “restaurant-only” dishes. With its crispy pork cutlet, softly set eggs, and savory-sweet sauce, it’s comfort food with a bit of flair—familiar and satisfying, yet easy to assume it’s best left to the pros.
In this journal, we’re sharing a reliable katsudon recipe, along with a few of our essential picks to make both the cooking and serving feel satisfying from start to finish. From finding the right donburi bowl to choosing a pan that works well for this dish, these small details help bring the whole thing home!
Table of contents
The Recipe: Step-by-Step Katsudon You’ll Want to Try
Katsudon might seem like a project, but once you get into the rhythm, it’s surprisingly doable. We’ve also included our recommended pick to make this recipe a little smoother, starting with the trusty copper donburi pan, a kitchen essential to make a nicely simmered donburi topping.
Ingredients (Serves 1)
- 1 generous serving of cooked rice
For fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu)
- 1 slice pork loin
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp flour (for coating)
- 1 egg beaten (for coating)
- 4 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs (for coating)
- Oil for frying (enough to reach 2 cm or ¾ inch in a frying pan)
For simmering broth
- 1 ⅓ Tbsp (50 ml) water
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- 1½ tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dashi powder
Other ingredients
- ¼ onion, thinly sliced
- 2 eggs, beaten
- A few sprigs of mitsuba (Japanese parsley), optional
Instructions
1. Bread pork loin
Season both sides of the pork loin with salt and pepper.
Tip: To help the pork cutlet cook evenly and stay flat, make a few small cuts along the edges before breading. This prevents the meat from curling in the pan.
Lightly coat it with flour.
Dip into beaten egg and press into panko until fully covered.
2. Fry until golden
In a small frying pan, heat about 2 cm (¾ inch) of oil to 170°C (340°F). Fry the pork cutlet for four to five minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove and cut into about four strips.
3. Prepare the simmering broth
In a small pan or copper donburi pan, add all the simmering broth ingredients and stir briefly to combine. Add the sliced onion and heat over low to medium heat. Once it begins to boil, let it simmer for two to three minutes until the onion softens.
4. Simmer the pork cutlet and eggs
Place the sliced pork cutlet into the broth. Pour in about two-thirds of the two beaten eggs and let them cook gently until softly set. Add the remaining egg and cook just until it reaches your preferred doneness. Remove pan from the heat.
5. Plate and serve
Scoop hot rice into a deep donburi bowl. Slide the simmered tonkatsu and egg mixture on top.
Finish with a few sprigs of mitsuba, if you like.
You can adjust the egg doneness to your liking. Slightly runny eggs work especially well with the sauce and rice.
Bowls That Fit: What Makes a Good Katsudon Donburi
You’ve made the katsudon, now it’s time to find the right bowl to match.
A good donburi bowl does more than hold the meal. It frames the dish, keeps the sauce where it should be, and feels good in your hands as you eat. It should be deep enough for layering and wide enough to show off the glossy eggs and crisp cutlet.
For our katsudon, we’re showing two options you can choose from.
The Udon Donburi Bowl 6.5 in is a classic pick, simple yet authentic, with the beautiful deep glow of red lacquer. The added placemat completes the setup for a guest at the table, ready to enjoy your finished dish.
The Stripe Pattern Ramen Bowl 7.7 in is a little more playful, with a wider rim and cheerful design that brings a lighter mood to the table. Don't let the name fool you, this bowl is a great match for donburi dishes with hearty toppings like katsudon or gyudon.
Either one works beautifully. It just depends on the kind of atmosphere you want to create at the table.
Among all the donburi dishes out there, katsudon might just be the reigning champion. Crispy, savory, comforting, and dramatic in the pan, it has all the makings of a meal that sticks with you.
Once you’ve cooked it, plated it, and taken that first bite, you’ll understand why it holds such a special place in the donburi hall of fame. And with the right bowl and tools, it’s something you’ll want to make again and again.
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