Miso Katsudon　

Miso katsudon is a winner of a dish and sure to be your go-to for a satisfying and flavourful meal! It’s made from a combination of crispy breaded pork cutlets (katsu) with a savoury umami miso sauce all served over a bed of steaming rice. It’s a popular “fast food” choice like many other Donburi dishes and a staple of Japanese home cooking.

What is Miso Katsudon?

Miso katsudon is a popular Japanese dish that combines two delicious components: crispy panko crumbed deep-fried pork cutlets (tonkatsu) and sweet umami packed delicious miso-based sauce. The cutlets are served over a bed of steamed rice with some cabbage to create a type of all-in-one rice bowl dish known as “donburi”. There are many other types of donburi dishes including tempura donburi and unagi (grilled bbq eel) donburi. Miso katsudon originated in the city of Nagoya in Japan but can now be found across the country.  It’s a comforting and satisfying meal that is perfect for lunch or dinner.

Nagoya Miso Katsu

Nagoya is a bustling city in central Japan that is known for its unique food culture, including the popular dish : Miso Katsu. Miso katsu is a delicious deep-fried pork cutlet that is coated in a savory miso katsu sauce, giving it a rich umami flavour. It’s a local specialty of Nagoya but is now popular elsewhere. The crispy pork cutlet pairs perfectly with the tangy and slightly sweet miso katsu sauce, creating a mouthwatering combination loved by locals and tourists. In Nagoya and other parts of Japan, you can find many restaurants serving up this delectable dish. It can be served over rice as a donburi dish or on its own as part of a set meal with sides like pickles, soup, and rice.

Ingredients You Need to Make Miso Katsudon

Katsudon

Pork cutlets: Thinly sliced pork cutlets or pork chops coated in panko crumbs and fried until crispy.

Rice: Miso katsudon is typically served over steamed white rice, which helps balance out the savoury flavours of the dish and makes it filling. 

Shredded cabbage : Cabbage is often served with katsu because it adds a refreshing element to the dish that helps balance the heaviness and rich flavours of the fried meat.

Miso Katsu Sauce Main Ingredients

The miso on top of the top katsu is not just plain miso paste coated on the pork. It’s actually made with dashi stock, mirin, sake, sugar, and  miso all mixed together. That is how the unique sweet & savoury flavour is created. 

Miso : Miso is a fermented soybean paste that adds a rich umami flavor to dishes. It comes in different varieties, such as white miso (which is milder and sweeter), red miso (which is deeper and earthier), and awase miso which is a mix of both white and red miso. Miso goes with any protein but the flavour matches particularly well with pork. 

Miso katsu in Nagoya typically uses a special type of dark red miso paste called Hatcho Miso, or ‘haccho miso’, (八丁味噌). It is made from 100% soybeans, with no added grains, that have been fermented for an extended period of time. This results in a dark-coloured paste and gives it a very umami-rich and intense flavour with less sweetness than other miso varieties. But when the hatcho miso is combined with the mirin, sake, and sugar it becomes sweetened and very delicious. It can be difficult to find hatcho miso outside of Japan so you can use any type of miso. I use my homemade miso to make this special sauce. 

The miso sauce can be used not just for miso katsudon but also as a marinade, glaze, or dipping sauce for other meats, vegetables, tofu, or noodles. Experiment with different ratios of these ingredients to find your perfect miso sauce recipe!

Step by step instructions of Miso Katsudon

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make this flavourful dish at home: 

1. Cook Rice : set the rice cooker first if you don’t have rice ready. If you don’t have a rice cooker see this post for instructions. 

2. Make Tonkatsu 

• Mix the egg, flour, water, and mayonnaise in a small bowl to make a batter.
• Prepare the pork cutlets: Pound the pork loin chops until they are about half an inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper. 
• Mix the egg, flour, water, and mayonnaise in a small bowl to make a batter. *note that I found this way is quicker and easier. I don’t set up breading station but instead, i mix them all together to make batter. 
• Coat each pork fillet slice into the batter then place into the Panko crumbs.
• Coat the pork cutlets in panko breadcrumbs (Japanese bread crumbs), pressing gently to adhere them to the meat. 
• Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan over medium heat until it reaches around 180 c.
• Deep fry the breaded pork cutlets until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. 
• Remove the tonkatsu from the deep frying pan and place them on a paper towel-lined wire rack to drain any excess oil.

3. Make Miso katsu sauce

• Usually tonkatsu is served with tonkatsu sauce (a tangy-sweet sauce made from Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, and other seasonings). But miso katsudon uses miso sauce which is also easy to make. 
• Simply place all the miso sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to boil over high heat and stir to combine. 

4. Serve

• Place some rice in a bowl, and drizzle some of the miso sauce, then top with the salad leaves/cabbage and the sliced tonkatsu pork.
• Pour the miso sauce over the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Variations and Substitutions of Miso Katsudon

For whatever reason you do not eat pork, you can replace it with chicken, fish, seafoods, and even vegetarian options such as tofu (use firm tofu). 

You can also bake the cutlets instead of deep frying to make it healthier.

Tips to make perfect Miso Katsudon

One key ingredient in miso katsu is hatcho miso, a type of miso paste that is known for its deep umami flavour and robust taste. This unique variety of miso adds depth and complexity to the dish, complementing the crispy texture of the pork cutlet perfectly. As I said above, because it is a special type of miso it can be difficult to find outside of Japan. You can use any other type of miso but, if possible, use red miso which will have a more similar richness.

Miso katsudon is a filling and comforting traditional Japanese dish that is easy to make at home. It combines the crunchiness of fried pork cutlets with the umami-rich flavor of miso sauce that makes it so irresistibly delicious.

Here is my recipe for Miso Katsudon and If you liked it, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!