Skip to main content

Recipe

A Bite To Eat With Alice: Pork katsu sambo with slaw

Prep time: 
20
Cook time: 
35
Skill level: 
Low
Serves: 
4
Crispy pork katsu sandwiches with cabbage and apple slaw, neatly sliced and served on a gold platter.

For the ultimate pork katsu sandwich, use thick, fluffy bread and let the crispy pork rest before assembling — it keeps the crust crunchy! (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

Alice Zaslavsky is the host of A Bite To Eat with Alice, weeknights at 5pm on ABC TV and anytime on ABC iview. Alice is the resident culinary correspondent for ABC News Breakfast and ABC Radio, a food literacy advocate, bestselling cookbook author, and creator of Phenomenom, a free digital toolbox helping teachers slip more serves of veg into the curriculum.

Jump to Recipe

When singer Marlon Williams steps into the kitchen, Alice serves up a dish as bold and effortless as his music. 

Ingredients for pork katsu sandwiches, including pork chops, egg, apple, cabbage, mayo, and vinegar on a wooden table.

For extra crunch, use panko breadcrumbs when crumbing your pork. This creates a lighter, crispier coating than regular breadcrumbs. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

This pork katsu sambo is the ultimate balance of crunch, flavour, and softness — crispy golden pork katsu, fresh cabbage and apple slaw, and a generous drizzle of tonkatsu sauce, all sandwiched between thick, fluffy slices of bread. 

Slicing apples on a wooden board with a bowl of cabbage slaw in the background.

For the best texture, slice the apple into thin matchsticks, this helps it blend evenly into the slaw without overpowering each bite. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

This is a Japanese classic sambo, delivering the perfect harmony of textures in every bite. Whether it's a quick lunch or a laid-back dinner, this sambo is a hit every time.

Two golden, crispy pork katsu cutlets resting on a wire rack over a baking tray.

Always rest fried pork katsu on a wire rack. This keeps the crust crispy, by preventing steam from making it soggy. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

Tips

  • Use Japanese Kewpie for authenticity: Kewpie mayo adds a rich umami flavour, but if you don't have it, regular mayo works as a substitute.
  • Keep apples from browning: The acid in the dressing helps prevent the apples from turning brown, keeping the slaw fresh and vibrant.
  • Choose the right oil: Any neutral oil like rice bran, vegetable or grapeseed oil works well for frying.
  • Loosen the egg wash: Adding a splash of milk to the egg wash creates a thinner coating, helping the breadcrumbs adhere more evenly.
  • Fry at the right temperature: Make sure the oil is hot before adding the pork, and fry until deep golden brown and extra crispy for the best crunch.
  • Sauce swap: No tonkatsu sauce? BBQ sauce makes a great alternative in a pinch!

Here’s the full list of recipes from Season 2 of A Bite To Eat With Alice.

This recipe appears in A Bite to Eat with Alice, a new nightly cooking show on ABC iview and weeknights at 5pm on ABC TV.

A Bite To Eat With Alice: Pork katsu sambo with slaw

Prep time: 
20
Cook time: 
35
Skill level: 
Low
Serves: 
4

Ingredients

Cabbage and apple slaw 

  • 2 cups thinly-sliced green cabbage (about ¼ whole cabbage) 
  • 1 medium pink lady apple, cored and thinly sliced into matchsticks 
  • 2—3 spring onions, sliced finely on the bias 
  • 2 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise (plus extra for schmearing) 
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 

For the pork

  • 4 boneless pork chops, about 1cm thick 
  • Salt flakes, to season 
  • Freshly-cracked black pepper, to season 
  • 1 large egg 
  • 1 tablespoon milk 
  • 1½ cups (150g) panko breadcrumbs 
  • ½ cup (75g) plain flour, for dusting 
  • Neutral oil, for frying (I like rice bran or grapeseed) 
  • 8 slices good quality thick white bread (shokupan-slice bread) 
  • Tonkatsu sauce, to serve 

Method

  1. For the cabbage and apple slaw, in a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced cabbage, sliced apple and spring onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the Kewpie and rice vinegar. Pour the dressing over the slaw mixture and toss everything until evenly coated. Cover and set aside while you prepare the rest of the elements. 
  2. For the pork, use a rolling pin or meat mallet to lightly bash them out. Season with salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. 
  3. For the crumbing, beat the egg in a wide shallow bowl, adding a touch of milk if you need to thin it slightly. Place the breadcrumbs in a second shallow bowl and sprinkle the flour onto a plate. Working one at a time, dust a pork chop in the flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs, using your hands to really push the crumbs into the pork chop. Repeat with remaining pork chops until they're all crumbed. 
  4. Heat a 1cm layer of neutral oil in a large pan over medium heat. Working in batches, add the crumbed pork and cook until quite golden brown and cooked through — about 3—4 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack set over a tray, and sprinkle with salt flakes while still hot.
  5. To assemble, schmear some kewpie on the base of a piece of bread, pop the warm pork chop directly on top of the bread, drizzle with tonkatsu sauce and top with a good handful of the cabbage apple slaw. Place another piece of bread on top as a lid and cut in half. Serve immediately.
Back to top