- 4 partsTomato sauce
- 2 partsWorcestershire
- 1 partOyster sauce
- 1 partSoy sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) tomato sauce (ketchup)
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp caster sugar or honey
- 1 tbsp grated apple or apple sauce
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder or 1/2 tsp hot English mustard
- Pinch of ground ginger
- Put everything into a small bowl.
- Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the sauce is smooth and thick.
- Taste: add more Worcestershire for tang or more sugar for sweetness.
- Leave for 10 minutes before serving so the flavours settle. For a smoother sauce, simmer for 2 minutes and cool.
Tonkatsu sauce is the thick brown sauce served with Japanese crumbed pork cutlets. Think of it as a sweeter, fruitier cousin of barbecue sauce, built on Worcestershire. Most Japanese homes buy a bottle (our tonkatsu sauce glossary page covers the bottled kind), but you can make a very good version with what is already in your cupboard.
Tomato sauce, Worcestershire, oyster sauce and a little sugar get you most of the way. A spoon of grated apple or apple sauce is the secret: it gives the fruity body of the bottled stuff. Make it thick enough to sit on top of the crumb without soaking in.
Tonkatsu and chicken katsu, potato croquettes, hambagu steak, okonomiyaki, takoyaki and katsu sandos.
Drizzle it over tonkatsu, korokke or hambagu, or spread it in a katsu sando. For a creamy partner, add Kewpie.
Uses this sauce
Recipes that call for this sauce. Make a batch and cook one of these.
Pairs well with
Dishes this sauce suits. These recipes make their own glaze or dressing, so you can swap this sauce in.