Tonkatsu Inspired Pork & Cabbage Salad
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Crispy, golden pork loins, served with a crunchy fresh cabbage salad. This is my budget take of the Japanese classic, a Tonkatsu-Inspired Pork and Cabbage Salad. If you end up buying a larger pack of pork to keep the grocery bill down, you can use the leftover meat to make these Crispy Pork Cutlets later in the week!
Recipe Summary: Tonkatsu Inspired Pork
- ✅ Recipe Name: Tonkatsu Inspired Pork & Cabbage Salad
- 🕦 Ready in: 15 minutes
- 🤝 Serves: 4
- 🍴 Calories: 539kcal
- 🧑🍳 Main ingredients: pork loins, white cabbage, flour, panko
- ✨ Summary: Tonkatsu-inspired pork with a shredded cabbage side salad- a flavourful budget take on the classic Japanese dish.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Anti-dredging station– due to budget constraints, I couldn’t afford to add eggs within this recipe. I use the moisture from soy, mustard, and milk to help bind the breadcrumbs to the pork. Try out my crispy bone-in chicken thighs if you’re too tired to dredge anything!
- Light & fresh – after coming back from Japan, cabbage side salads are my new favourite vegetables. It balances the richness of the tonkatsu-inspired pork by cutting through the fat. Heaven. If you wanna go all out with a fancy dressing, try out my miso dressing or gyoza dipping sauce to drizzle over the cabbage and pork.
- Prepable- shredded cabbage holds up fantastically in the fridge, making it a great salad to prep ahead of time. You can also reheat the pork loins in the air fryer for a crispy meal prep salad.
Looking for more delicious salads? Try out my super speedy prawn salad, Jennifer Anniston salad, grinder salad or orzo pasta salad if you love a carby salad.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Tonkatsu-Inspired Pork and Cabbage Salad
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
How to make a Tonkatsu Inspired Pork & Cabbage Salad
Step 1: Dredge your pork loins in the wet-mix, then the panko breadcrumbs.
Step 2: Firmly press the breadcrumbs to help them bind to the pork loins.
Step 3: Shallow-fry for two minutes.
Step 4: Rotate and fry for a further two minutes.
Step 5: Place on a wire rack and season immediately with salt.
Step 6: Serve up with your cabbage salad, soy sauce and mustard.
Tips for the best result
- Firmly press the panko breadcrumbs onto the pork loins to help them bind to the pork. I use panko in this Boom Boom Shrimp too for a nice crunchy texture – so good!!
- Use a peeler or mandolin to thinly shred the cabbage for the best texture.
- If you’re worried about the cook time for the pork, use a meat thermometer and cook until an internal temp of 145°F (63°C) is reached.
- Season the breaded pork loins with salt as soon as they are placed on the wire rack to allow the salt to bind with the breadcrumbs.
Serving Suggestions
This pork and cabbage salad is pretty filling by itself, but you can easily stretch it into a larger meal without spending much extra at the supermarket. I love eating it with a side of Easy Din Tai Fung Cucumber because the vinegar and garlic really balance out the fried coating on the meat. You could also just serve it over plain rice, or pair it with a Salmon Rice Bowl if you want a massive weekend dinner that feels like takeout.
If you need an inexpensive way to feed a larger group, boiling a quick pan of Spicy Korean Gochujang Noodles takes barely ten minutes. Or if you just love that classic breaded texture and want to use up your leftover panko later in the week, try making a batch of Chicken Katsu Curry.
Tonkatsu-inspired pork FAQs
Pork loin steaks or boneless pork chops are ideal. They’re affordable, lean, and easy to pound thin so they cook quickly and stay tender.
Standard white or green cabbage is traditional and usually the cheapest option at the supermarket. For that authentic restaurant texture, slice the cabbage as thinly as possible using a sharp knife or a mandoline.
Always store the leftover cooked pork and the cabbage salad in separate containers. To keep the panko crust crispy, reheat the pork cutlets in an air fryer or oven for a few minutes. Avoid the microwave, as it makes the breading soggy.
Panko is highly recommended for that authentic, light crunch. If you only have standard fine breadcrumbs on hand, they will still work to coat the meat, but the crust will be a bit heavier and won’t get quite as crispy.
For more fun salad ideas, make sure to try Dense Bean Salad, Shrimp Salad Sandwich, Rocket Salad or this Mexican Chicken Salad.
Explore more Asian-inspired recipes
If you tried this Tonkatsu Inspired Pork & Cabbage Salad, it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Tonkatsu-Inspired Pork and Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
- 4 pork loins, pounded
- 1 white cabbage, shredded
- 3 stalks of celery, sliced on the bias
- 3 tbsp milk
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard + more to serve
- 1 tbsp soy sauce + more to serv
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 100 g panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 100 ml rapeseed oil
Method
- Pound the pork loins to a 1-inch thickness. In one plate, add the flour, garlic granules, Dijon and milk. Season with salt and pepper and whisk to combine.
- On a separate plate, add the panko breadcrumbs. Dredge the pork loins in the wet mix, then the dry, using your hands to firmly press the breadcrumbs to help them bind to the pork.
- Add rapeseed oil to a wide/deep frying pan to a depth of 2cm. Allow the oil to preheat over medium heat. Once hot, add two of the pork loins gently into the pan with metal tongs. After two minutes, or once crispy and golden, rotate to fry the other side.
- Cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside on a wire rack. Repeat with the other two pork loins.
- For the cabbage salad, coat the shredded cabbage in 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, a pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of optional olive oil. Use your hands to incorporate.
- Serve a portion of salad with a crispy tonkotsu-inspired pork loin. Add a helping of mustard and enjoy!
Notes
- You can air fry or bake the pork loins instead of shallow frying. I like to toast the breadcrumbs before breading so that you get more of a golden brown end result. After toasting the panko, let them cool, then follow the dredging steps. Then bake for 20 minutes at 200°C or 15 minutes in the airfryer at 200°C.
- Season the pork with salt as soon as it’s removed from the oil. This will help the salt to bind with the crispy breadcrumbs.
Nutrition
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