Today I’m going to introduce you to the Korean way of making a pork cutlet, called “donkkaseu” in Korean. It’s an iteration of the Japanese tonkatsu which was the Japanese take on the European schnitzel. It’s a hot, savory, breaded pork cutlet, and my version is served on a bed of rice and Hi-Rice sauce, with a side of kimchi and a side of cabbage salad.
These days donkkaseu is sold everywhere, in all kinds of restaurants, but when I was young it was only served in Western-style restaurants (called Gyoungyang-sik). That kind of food was new and exciting and they sold hamburger steaks, beef cutlets, pork cutlets, omelette rice, and steaks. It was more expensive than Korean restaurants, but it wasn’t totally a Western either: every dish was served with kimchi and rice, and usually a pickle, too.
These days Western food is all over Korea, but in those days eating Western-style food with a knife and fork was an exotic thing to do. My friends would say: “Are you ready to use a knife and fork today?” We all knew what that meant! Donkkaseu! We thought it was so cool!
The Hi-rice sauce I use goes perfectly with donkkaseu but if you can’t find it, you can use regular gravy, or even ketchup. Using Hi-rice sauce for this is my invention, but it really tastes like the donkkaseu gravy I used to have in those Gyoungyang-sik places all those years ago. The minute I tasted it, I was brought back to my old middle school days and my old friends in the restaurant!
Someday I’ll make a hi-rice recipe for my website and show you how this gravy is usually used, but in the meantime you can use it to make donkkaseu.
The word “donkkaseu” is an odd word, and I never knew what it meant until I started learning English. “Don” is based on the Chinese character for pork, and “kkaseu” is taken from the Japanese “katsu” which is their loanword for “cutlet.” The Japanese version of this dish is called “Tonkatsu” and donkkaseu is our Koreanization of that. It sounds kind of funny!
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 4 thin slices (1 pound) pork loin or tenderloin (beef, chicken, or turkey)
- kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups ppang-garu (Korean bread crumbs or Japanese panko)
- 3 eggs, beaten with a pinch of kosher salt
- Steamed rice
- 3 cups corn oil
For gravy:
- 1 package (100 grams: about ¾ cup) of hi-rice powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2½ cups water
- ¼ cup ketchup
For cabbage salad:
- ½ medium head cabbage, shredded, rinsed in cold water, strained, and refrigerated
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
Directions
Prepare the cutlets:
- Use a meat tenderizer or (the back of your kitchen knife) to pound and flatten the sliced pork into cutlets about 7 by 5 inches and ¼ to ⅛ inch thick.
- Sprinkle one side with salt and ground black pepper.
- Coat both sides of the cutlets with flour, dip them in the beaten eggs, and press them into bread crumbs. Refrigerate.
Make salad:
- Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey (or sugar), and ketchup in a bowl and mix well and refrigerate it.
Make gravy:
- Heat the butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat. When it’s half melted, add the hi-rice powder and stir well with a wooden spoonfor about 2 minutes until well mixed .
- Add water and stir well. Add the ketchup and mix well. Keep cooking, stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes until it bubbles and thickens.
- Remove from the heat.
Fry the pork:
- Heat up the corn oil over medium high heat until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fry the pork until both sides are golden brown, turning them over a few times with tongs. It will take about 12- 13 minutes.
- Strain the pork and pat off the excess oil with a kitchen towel.
- Cut into strips.
Put it together and serve:
- Reheat the gravy.
- Put some warm rice on the plate. Ladle hot gravy over top of the rice.
- Put the sliced cutlet on top of the rice. Drizzle a bit of gravy over top.
- Place some shredded cabbage next to the pork and add cold mayonnaise dressing on top.
- Serve hot with kimchi or yellow pickled radish.
Oh my god, this is so good! And so easy to make, I love it about your recipes, they’re often really easy to follow, and better than you would expect with not that many ingredients.
I just swapped a salad (I didn’t want vegetables with mayonnaise with deep-fried meat) for a simple tomato with a bit of white onion and yoghurt.
The salad made with simple tomato, onion, and yugurt sounds great!
Fell in love with donkkaseu when I went to South Korea a few months ago and I’ve been dying to have it again. I finally found some extra time on my hands and decided to make it myself! I made one with pork, and one with chicken. Could not be happier with the results, it tasted just like what I had in Korea! Thank you for the recipe <3
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Yum!
Another successful recipe!! ❤️❤️ Better than what I’ve ordered at restaurants! Thank you!!
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Recipe*
It looks perfect! Congratulations!
So, I’ve been really itching to make your recipes and this is the first thing I went for because my family loves pork. They ADORED this and I loved it as well. I can’t wait to get the chance to make more of your delicious food and share more stories with you. Bye!
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Wow your donkkaseu plating can’t be better! It makes me crave donkkaseu now! : )
Hey Maangchi, what soup is it that is normally served with Donkkaseu at Korean restaurants. I wanted to make that also with this recipe. Thank you!
I made this for dinner,my husband love this.I don’t have Hi-rice powder,I don’t have Korean market around here,will drive for 6-7hrs.I made my own sauce.It was so delicious
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This recipe is so good my family absolutely loved it and I will definitely be making this again!
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Congratulations! It looks very delicious!
HI Maangchi!!!! Waving “Hello” from NH!!!! Made your Donkkaseu again today!!!! SO good, Love this stuff!!!!!
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Donkkaseu time! Thank you for sharing the photo with us! It looks crunchy with juicy sauce!
Hi dear Maangchi,
I want to make cheese Donkkaseu, but when can I put the cheese on your recipe..?
Thank you for all your work !
You’re gorgeous !
Hi,
(Sorry I’m not Maangchi) You can put your cheese slice(s) between two pieces of pork, like a sandwich, and then coat with flour, egg, and bread crumbs.
Hope this helps!
Hi Maangchi, I visited Korea last year and I became obsessed with the food & the K-Dramas . I’ve followed your recipes to cook for my friends and they’ve always loved the food, actually this the first time I’ll be able to post a photo since before everything was gone before I had time to take one. Thanks for an amazing blog.
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My question is about the hi-powder for gravy. If I can’t find or get the Hi powder packet for the gravy..is there a Another substitute in the American grocery stores that may work..such as a beef brown gravy packet by a company like McCormick or any brown gravy packet that is easily available in general local store.
I don’t think it will be the same at all unless there is some kind of gravy.
Thank you and I love all your videos!
I used the McCormick brown gravy packets and it came out great! Everyone loved it.
Hello Maangchi!
I tried your recipe with veal. It turned out great!
My family loved it. I am planning to cook for my school this dish!
Thank you Maangchi! Kansahamnida!
P.S. do you by any chance have your version of Tongdak-Gui? Thank you!
waiting for my chicken breast to unfreeze :D my grandparents grew their own chickens in summer (30 of them!!!) and their meat is sooo good (though I felt really guilty eating it… I saw them as cute little chicks ): ) as soon as I saw this recipe, I went to the shop and bought bread crumbs :D can’t wait!
튀기고 남은 기름은 어떻게 사용하세요?
전 그게 제일 고민이랍니다 ㅜㅜ 기름이 아까워서 튀김은 거의 생각도 못해요
People have told me to recycle…pour it through a strainer and put it in a jar. You can use it next time.
That’s what I hate about frying things too.