Katsudon (Japanese Chicken or Pork Cutlet and Egg Rice Bowl) Recipe

This Japanese comfort food classic smothers fried cutlets with seasoned dashi and lightly cooked egg.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated May 17, 2023

Why It Works

  • The breading on leftover fried chicken or pork cutlets is great at absorbing flavorful liquids.
  • Steaming the eggs in broth keeps them nice and tender.

In the US, we're obsessed with keeping our crisply fried foods as crisp as possible. What's the point of frying a chicken cutlet or battering an onion ring if it's just gonna get soggy again, right?

Overhead view of katsudon

Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

This is not the case in Japan, where there are tons of dishes that start with crisply frying food, only to then douse it in a soup or sauce that kills its crispness. Dishes like agedashi tofu (tofu that's fried until crackling like an eggshell, then coated in dashi stock so it turns slippery and tender); or tempura udon (crisply fried tempura shrimp, served all soggy-like in udon broth); or chazuke (hot tea poured over crisply fried seafood and vegetables until they're limp and saturated).

I admit: The idea doesn't sound so great when you describe it like that, but these dishes all end up with really unique textures and flavors. Frying drives off excess moisture from batters and breadings, which leaves behind plenty of open spaces to absorb flavorful liquids. Mexican chiles rellenos use a similar concept. Not sold? Well, an easy way to dip your feet into the world of fried-then-soaked foods is katsudon, a dish made with leftover chicken katsu or pork tonkatsu simmered with eggs in a soy-dashi broth, then served over a bowl of rice.

There's no easy way to reheat katsu so it comes out crisp and juicy, so what harm can it do to give this version, which embraces the sogginess of leftovers, a shot?

Overhead view of a bowl of katsudon, sprinkled with chopped green onion.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

The process for making it is almost identical to that of oyakodon, a similar rice bowl topped with simmered fresh chicken and egg.

You start by combining dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a shallow pan and bringing it to a simmer. Traditionally, you'd use a specialized pan called a donburi pan, which has a lid with a hole in the center to allow steam to escape, but any small skillet will do.

Once the broth is at a simmer, add your katsu (leftover or otherwise), sliced into chopstick-sized pieces, and simmer it until it's warmed through. If you like, you can also add a thinly sliced onion to the broth before adding the katsu. Finally, drizzle the whole thing with a couple beaten eggs—I like to beat scallions in with my eggs—cover it, and let it steam just until the egg is cooked through. This takes just about a minute for very loose eggs (the way I like it), or a couple of minutes for medium eggs.

Once the eggs are set the way you like them, just slide the whole thing out on top of a bowl of rice. The sweet-and-savory broth soaks into the rice, while the eggs and totally-soggy-but-delicious katsu steam away on top. For my money, there's no better way to reheat and serve leftover chicken or pork cutlets.

Embrace the sogginess, and let the flavor wash over you.

April 2017

Recipe Details

Katsudon (Japanese Chicken or Pork Cutlet and Egg Rice Bowl) Recipe

Active 3 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 1 serving

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup (80mldashi, or 1/3 cup (80ml) water mixed with 3/4 teaspoon Hondashi

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) sake

  • 2 teaspoons (8g) sugar

  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) mirin

  • 4 ounces thinly sliced yellow onion (115g; about 1/2 medium onion), optional

  • 1 leftover Japanese fried chicken or pork cutlet, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

  • Steamed white or brown rice, for serving

Directions

  1. Combine dashi, soy sauce, sake, sugar, and mirin in a small saucepan or donburi pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. If using onion, add to broth and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Add sliced fried cutlet and let simmer for 1 minute. Meanwhile, beat together eggs and scallions in a small bowl. Pour egg mixture on top of cutlet and around broth. Cover and cook until eggs are as set as you'd like them, about 1 minute for very soft or 2 minutes for medium. Slide broth, egg, and chicken out on top of a bowl of rice. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.

    Four image collage of onions in broth, pork added to onions and broth, eggs added and the whole mixture pouring over rice

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1317Calories
50gFat
117gCarbs
90gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories1317
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 50g64%
Saturated Fat 10g51%
Cholesterol 704mg235%
Sodium 1928mg84%
Total Carbohydrate 117g43%
Dietary Fiber 6g21%
Total Sugars 18g
Protein 90g
Vitamin C 11mg53%
Calcium 228mg18%
Iron 9mg49%
Potassium 1383mg29%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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