Tonkatsu is one of Japan's most popular comfort foods. It's made by cutting pork fillets into thick slices that are heavily breaded and slowly deep-fried. The preparation is simple in concept, but getting just the right balance of batter and breading, frying temperature and cooking length is a real art, and when it's done well the result is a juicy, delicious slab of pork encased in a beautifully crisp, ungreasy coating.

Over the past decade or so there has been a boom in premium pork brands - often from heirloom and newly devloped hybrid breeds - that in many ways rivals the interest in premium wagyu beef. Taking advantage of this interest, many long-running tonkatsu shops have stepped up their game in recent years and now offer one or more premium-brand alternatives to their regular pork cutlets.

Tonkatsu meals

Cutlets at tonkatsu shops are generally available in two different cuts - "rosu," a somewhat fatty loin of pork, and "hire," a leaner tenderloin cut from which the fat has been trimmed. Whatever your feelings about fatty meats, it's worth trying both to see which you like better. Another popular item is "menchi katsu," a ground-pork patty that tends to be much juicier than a regular cutlet. Menus may also offer deep-fried prawns, potato and crab croquettes, and "mixed-fry" platters.

Tonkatsu is served as the centerpiece of a set teishoku meal, which includes rice, pickles, heaps of shredded cabbage, and soup - often a pork-based soup called "tonjiru" rather than miso soup. Condiments typically include strong mustard, salad dressing for your cabbage, salt, lemon, and tonkatsu sauce, a thicker version of Worcestershire sauce. Established shops often develop their own exclusive recipes for salad dressing and tonkatsu sauce, and sometimes there's more than one tonkatsu sauce to choose from.