Pork Katsu in Air Fryer

I promise you, these Air Fryer Pork Katsu taste wayyy better than restaurant Katsu. They are very crispy, even though you use only a small amount of oil to spray them with. The meat comes out super juicy, and I also have a little tip up my sleeve, so they look evenly browned, golden, and look just like deep-fried! I included my super-easy Katsu Sauce recipe as well here, so you can have the full restaurant Katsu experience.

You can use this same recipe to make Chicken Katsu as well. Replace pork with boneless skinless chicken breast fillet and fry in the air fryer or the traditional way until it's cooked through and golden brown.

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Seasonings for Pork Katsu:

I've tried different variations of seasonings so far, and I honestly like to use just salt and pepper. It tastes very clean, and the pork flavor comes through well. If you like to add more seasonings, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bit of cayenne for heat are good options.

I also sprinkle Air Fried Katsu with a little bit of fine salt at the end. It contributes to the overall flavor. If you want to be a little fancier, sprinkle it with truffle salt at the end. It's really, really good too.

Cooking Pork Katsu in Air Fryer

Cooking pork Katsu in an air fryer is way easier than deep frying. Less messy, too. You just have to use a thin coating of oil so they come out nicely golden and crispy. Make sure to set the time and temperature right to prevent the meat from drying out and overcooking.

The air fryer cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the pork chop you use. Also depends on the air fryer brand and size, etc. I use boneless pork loin chops that are about 1 inch thick (1/2 inch thick after I pound them down). I have a large air fryer so it takes a while to heat it up. I usually air fry my pork katsu for about 12 - 14 minutes. I check the doneness with an instant thermometer.

If you have a compact air fryer, they usually heat up fairly quickly. So you might need to reduce the cooking time accordingly.

Start with 10 minutes of cooking time and then increase as needed. The best way to check the doneness of pork is to use an instant thermometer.

Making it ahead

You can prep these pork katsu ahead of time, refrigerate, and then air fry when you need to serve them. They actually get crisper when you refrigerate them before frying. Make sure to store them in a single layer and refrigerate without a cover.

If you already fried them and want to serve them later, it's good to recrisp them in the air fryer. For that, I usually re-fry them in an air fryer for about 2 - 3 minutes until they are crispy again.

How to serve Pork Katsu

You can serve it with Katsu sauce, Jasmine rice, and shredded cabbage/coleslaw or lettuce. This is a very popular way that my local Japanese restaurants serve their Katsu.

Another popular method is to serve as Katsu curry. You can make Japanese curry with Japanese curry cube and then serve it with rice and salad or cabbage.

You can also use these Air Fryer Pork Katsu to make katsu sando (sandwich) along with katsu sauce, Japanese mayo, and shredded cabbage.

I also chop it up and use it to top my salads, rice bowls, and use it in wraps as well.

There are so many creative ways that you can use this crispy pork katsu. I hope you give this quick and easy recipe a try, and please let me know your feedback too. <3