Description
This cheese tonkatsu recipe rolls mozzarella inside tenderized panko-breaded pork and air-fries it until the crust is golden and the cheese inside is fully melted and stretchy.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3 boneless pork loins (1 inch thick)
- 8 oz mozzarella block
- 2 Eggs (beaten)
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 cups panko
- Non-stick spray or Vegetable Oil
- Chives or green onion (optional, to taste)
- Katsu sauce (for dipping)
Equipment
- Air fryer
- Meat tenderizer
- Plastic wrap
- Two shallow bowls
- Culinary spray bottle or non-stick spray
Instructions
- Prepare the pork. Cut each 1-inch pork loin in half by cutting all the way through, giving you 6 pieces. Use a meat tenderizer to pound each piece to about 1/8 inch thick.
- Cut the cheese. Cut the mozzarella block into 6 equal pieces.
- Roll and freeze. Place one piece of mozzarella at the edge of a tenderized pork loin and roll it up tightly, like an egg roll. Pinch to seal. Tightly wrap each roll in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Preheat and set up stations. Preheat the air fryer to 360F. Set up two wide shallow bowls: whisk beaten eggs and flour together in one, fill the other with panko.
- Bread the rolls. Remove rolls from the freezer. Dunk each one in the egg-flour mixture, then roll through the panko, pressing gently for even coverage.
- Air fry. Lightly spray each piece with oil. Air fry for 9 minutes, flip, spray the other side, and air fry another 9 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve. Cut each piece lengthwise or into rounds. Top with chives or green onion if using, and serve with katsu sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Freezing before breading is what keeps the rolls from unraveling during cooking. Don’t skip this step.
- Give the pieces space in the air fryer basket so the hot air can circulate and crisp all sides evenly. Don’t stack them.
- Cutting the rolls into rounds gives you that dramatic cheese-pull cross-section. Cutting lengthwise shows the full mozzarella center.
- Katsu sauce is the classic dip. Kewpie Mayo drizzled on top also works great and adds richness.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 18
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Japanese, Korean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll
- Calories: 410 kcal
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 540mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 37g
- Cholesterol: 110mg