Korean Pork Cutlet (Donkatsu)

Korean donkatsu is a thin, crispy pork cutlet served with a savory-sweet brown sauce, steamed rice, shredded cabbage, and pickles. This old-school gyeongyangsik-style recipe uses pounded pork loin, coarse panko, and a smooth brown sauce for a classic Korean restaurant-style meal that comes together in about 40 minutes. Donkatsu (돈가스) was a special treat when I was growing up in Korea. My parents would occasionally take us to a gyeongyangsik (경양식) restaurant, one of those old-fashioned Korean Western-style restaurants, and I almost always ordered the pork cutlet. I loved the thin piece of pork with its crisp panko crust, especially once it was covered in that savory-sweet brown sauce. Years later, when I moved to Seoul for college, there was a small donkatsu restaurant near Namsan that became one of my favorites. I no longer remember the restaurant’s name, and it closed many years ago, but I still remember the cutlet and, especially, the sauce. Other restaurants later appeared with similar names, but the flavor was never quite the same. A sliced piece shows the thin pork inside and crisp panko coating that make Korean donkatsu different from thicker Japanese tonkatsu. Get new recipe...