Katsudon is a Japanese rice bowl. A crisp tonkatsu pork cutlet is sliced, simmered with onion in a light broth of dashi, soy sauce and mirin, then bound with softly set beaten egg and slid onto warm rice. The name joins two words: katsu, the cutlet, and don, short for donburi, a rice bowl.

Or, the way we like to put it: katsudon is what happens when a crisp tonkatsu meets a pan of dashi and egg, then lands on warm rice.

This guide is for expats and visitors in Bangkok who keep seeing katsu don on Japanese menus and want to know what they are ordering. We cover how katsudon is made, how it differs from plain tonkatsu, where it comes from, the regional styles worth knowing, and how to eat it.

In this guide

1. What does katsudon mean?
2. How katsudon is made
3. Katsudon vs tonkatsu: side by side
4. Where katsudon comes from (and why nobody agrees)
5. Regional katsudon styles across Japan
6. Katsudon at Kogoro Katsu
7. FAQ

What does katsudon mean?

Katsudon (カツ丼) is a portmanteau of tonkatsu, a breaded and fried pork cutlet, and donburi, a bowl of rice with a topping. You will see it written as katsudon or katsu don on English menus. Both mean the same bowl.

Katsu itself comes from katsuretsu, the Japanese take on the European cutlet. Put ton (pork) in front and you have tonkatsu. Put the cutlet on rice in a deep bowl and you have katsudon.

Donburi is the family name. Katsudon sits alongside oyakodon (chicken and egg) and gyudon (simmered beef) as one of the classic Japanese rice bowls.

How katsudon is made

Katsudon starts as tonkatsu: a pork cutlet dusted in flour, dipped in egg, coated in panko breadcrumbs and deep fried until golden. The second half of the dish happens in a small, shallow pan.

1. The cutlet. Pork loin or tenderloin is breaded and fried. In Japan these two cuts are called rosu (loin, with a ribbon of fat) and hire (tenderloin, lean and tender).
2. The broth. Sliced onion simmers in dashi seasoned with soy sauce, mirin and a little sugar. The flavour is gently sweet and savoury, never heavy.
3. The egg. The sliced cutlet goes into the pan, then beaten egg is poured over the top. The egg is left loose and silky rather than cooked firm.
4. The bowl. Everything slides out of the pan in one piece onto a deep bowl of hot rice. A scatter of spring onion or mitsuba, a Japanese herb, finishes it.

The texture is the point. The top of the cutlet keeps some of its crunch, while the underside drinks up broth and egg. The rice below catches every drop.

Katsudon vs tonkatsu: side by side

Tonkatsu is the crisp cutlet on its own plate. Katsudon is that same cutlet simmered with egg and onion and served over rice in one bowl. Order tonkatsu for maximum crunch. Order katsudon for comfort.

Japan Guide describes tonkatsu as “usually served as a set meal (teishoku) with shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup and pickles”. SoraNews24 notes that in Japan tonkatsu carries the more premium image, while katsudon is the everyday favourite of set meal and rice bowl shops.

Where katsudon comes from (and why nobody agrees)

Nobody can say for certain who invented katsudon. Waseda University’s own magazine sets out three competing stories, dated 1913, 1918 and 1921.

• Masutaro Takahata opened his restaurant near Waseda in Tokyo on 28 November 1913. The business later became known for the sauce katsudon now linked with Fukui. Waseda notes he “never claimed his restaurant was the originator of katsudon; this idea was spread by magazines and other media”.
• A second story credits Sanchoan, a Tokyo restaurant, with a bowl in 1918.
• In February 1921, Keijiro Nakanishi, an 18 year old student at Waseda Senior High School, moved his plate of cutlet and rice into a bowl at a café near campus. His version used a thick sauce and green peas, not egg. The story was recorded in a 1967 Waseda history journal.

The dispute comes down to definitions. If katsudon means any cutlet on rice, the older sauce versions win. If it means the egg bound bowl most people picture today, the trail is harder to pin to one kitchen. Japanese sources also mention a claim from Kofu in Yamanashi.

Katsudon at Kogoro Katsu

Kogoro Katsu is a Japanese tonkatsu restaurant in Bangkok, part of Yuzu Group. Katsudon is on the menu, alongside the tonkatsu sets the brand is known for.

The kitchen follows a Niigata style tonkatsu recipe, served with a house pear sauce, as reported in Thai food press. The rice is Japanese rice cooked with natural mineral water, which gives glossy grains that suit every cutlet.

You will find Kogoro Katsu at four Bangkok branches:

• The Mall Bangkae
• Central Westville
• EMSPHERE
• The Circle Ratchapruk

The brand sums itself up in one Thai line: รสชาติความสุข…กรุบกรอบ, a taste of happiness, with a crunch.

FAQ

What is the difference between katsu and katsudon?

Katsu is the cutlet itself: meat coated in flour, egg and panko, then deep fried until crisp. Katsudon is a rice bowl built from that cutlet. The katsu is sliced, simmered with onion in a dashi, soy sauce and mirin broth, bound with beaten egg and served over rice. One is a component, the other a complete meal.

What is katsudon made of?

Katsudon is made of a breaded pork cutlet (tonkatsu), onion, egg and steamed Japanese rice. The simmering broth is dashi seasoned with soy sauce, mirin and a little sugar. Most bowls finish with spring onion or mitsuba. Pork loin or tenderloin is the usual cut, though chicken versions exist and are usually labelled chicken katsudon on the menu.

What do you eat katsudon with?

In Japan, katsudon is often served with miso soup and a few Japanese pickles, known as tsukemono. The soup warms the meal and the pickles cut through the rich egg and cutlet. A shake of shichimi togarashi is a common extra. Because the bowl already holds meat, egg and rice, it rarely needs anything more.

What is the sauce on katsudon?

The sauce on classic katsudon is a light simmering broth, not a thick sauce. It is dashi, the Japanese stock, seasoned with soy sauce, mirin and a little sugar, and it cooks the onion and egg. Regional versions differ: Niigata uses a sweet soy tare, Fukui a Worcestershire based sauce and Okayama demi glace.

What is the difference between donburi and katsudon?

Donburi is the category: any Japanese dish of rice in a deep bowl with a topping. Katsudon is one type of donburi, topped with tonkatsu simmered in egg and broth. Other well known donburi include oyakodon, made with chicken and egg, and gyudon, made with simmered sliced beef. So every katsudon is a donburi, but not every donburi is katsudon.

How do you pronounce “katsudon”?

Say it in three short, even beats: kah, tsoo, don. The “tsu” is one quick sound, like the end of “cats” followed by “oo”. Japanese gives each beat roughly equal weight, so avoid stressing one syllable heavily. In Japanese it is written カツ丼, and on English menus in Bangkok you will also see katsu don.