Since moving to Sweden, I always been trying to find ways to make Japanese food using normal ingrediens available in the grocery stores. Often I don’t really success, since I need the original ingrediens. But since practice makes perfect I want to share my Tonkatsu Recipe that really works great! I would never have come up with this outside of Sweden!
3 Key Points That Make It Worth Your While
- No deep frying!
This one’s pretty well known – by using an air fryer, you can cut out up to 80% of the excess fat. Super easy and much healthier! - Healthier breadcrumbs!
Instead of regular breadcrumbs, I use 100% whole grain knäckebröd (crispbread), which is popular in the Nordic countries.
If you’re in Japan or a country where crispbread isn’t available, you can simply use whole grain brown bread instead – just process it into breadcrumbs using a food processor or grater. The result is a wonderfully toasty flavor even without frying, and of course, it’s healthier. - Looks just like regular Tonkatsu!
When you use regular breadcrumbs in an air fryer, they often brown unevenly. This method solves that issue too – your Tonkatsu will look just as perfectly golden as if it were deep-fried!
See the recipe below! ↓
Here’s the Pork Loin for Tonkatsu that I usually buy in Sweden.
Product: Pork Loin (Fläskkarré)
Where to buy: Lidl
This is what we always use at home! It’s a bit thinner than regular tonkatsu cuts, so you might want to serve two pieces per person or prepare a few extra side dishes.
⚠️Cooking Tips & Things to Keep in Mind
First, the breadcrumb substitute! Crush some crispbread (knäckebröd) ↓
Start with 100% whole grain crispbread. Break it into smaller pieces, put them into a thick silicone bag, and crush them by rolling a rolling pin over the top until they’re as fine as shown in the photo.
Regular plastic bags tend to tear, so I recommend using a thick silicone bag.
Of course, you can also use a food processor, but since we only have a mini-sized one at home, I prefer the way I described above – it lets me make a bigger batch at once to store for later use.
How to Coat the Pork Loin Chops
If you skip this step, the meat can shrink during cooking and the coating might come off.
This is the Airfryer we are using → Cosori TurboBlaze 6.0-Liter Airfryer
The oil spray in the photo is one my best friend brought me from Japan back when oil sprays weren’t available in Sweden. These days, though, you can easily find similar sprays at most supermarkets here.
Product：DAVA Oljespray Air Fryer 180g
Where to buy：ICA Supermarket
Pointed Cabbage
For the salad, I recommend using pointed cabbage like the one in the photo above!
The taste and texture are very similar to Japanese cabbage.
Product name: Spetskål, Pointed Cabbage
Where to buy: It’s now available at most supermarkets, but if your local store doesn’t have it, you can find it at Asian grocery stores.
Tonkatsu Sauce
It our house, the Tonkatsu Sauce varies depending on the mood!
Sometimes we use Japanese Tonkatsu sauce, other times sesame miso, or simply soy sauce. Occasionally, we enjoy it with gochujang mayo as well.
Feel free to enjoy it with your favorite sauce!
This is how we make our Nordic Life Colorful! Enjoy your day!