Image: Wikimedia Commons
Fukui Sauce Katsudon is a rice bowl made by coating thinly sliced pork in fine breadcrumbs, deep-frying it, dipping it in a Worcestershire sauce-based sauce, and placing it on rice. In Fukui, it is taken for granted that ordering 'katsudon' will bring you sauce katsudon rather than the version simmered with egg. Its originator is said to be Yoroppaken, a Western-style restaurant in Fukui City. Its founder, Takabatake Masutaro, studied cooking in Germany and presented this dish in Tokyo in 1913 (Taisho 2). After being hit by the Great Kanto Earthquake, he returned to his hometown of Fukui and reopened the restaurant, and sauce katsudon took root as a taste of Fukui. Today, noren-wake shops (independent shops permitted to carry on the original name) have spread throughout the prefecture, and the dish is beloved as a soul food of the people of Fukui. The cutlet is tender enough to cut with chopsticks, and the sauce, with its balance of sweetness and acidity, whets the appetite. Another characteristic is its simplicity: there is no cabbage underneath, only rice and cutlet.
Origin
The person said to have devised sauce katsudon is Takabatake Masutaro, a native of Fukui Prefecture. Takabatake went to Germany in 1906 (Meiji 39) and studied cooking in Berlin for six years. There he encountered Worcestershire sauce and is said to have wanted to spread its flavor in Japan. After returning home, in 1913 (Taisho 2), he presented a katsudon seasoned with sauce at a cooking presentation in Tokyo. In the same year, he opened Yoroppaken in Waseda Tsurumaki-cho, Tokyo.
History
Yoroppaken later also opened a shop in Oppama, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. However, it was hit by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 (Taisho 12), and Takabatake returned to his hometown of Fukui to reopen the restaurant. Since then, sauce katsudon has been established as a Fukui specialty. In 1939 (Showa 14), a shop in Tsuruga, said to be the first noren-wake branch, opened. Today, 19 shops, including the head restaurant, are said to be operating in Fukui Prefecture.
Features
The pork used for the cutlet is thinly sliced and fried until crisp in fine breadcrumbs. The fried cutlet is dipped in each shop's own sauce, made by adding spices and other ingredients to Worcestershire sauce, and placed on rice. A distinctive feature is that the rice is also coated with sauce, and because the cutlet is not simmered with egg, the crunchy texture of the coating remains. The thickness of the cutlet and the sweetness of the sauce vary from shop to shop; the Tsuruga shop is said to serve thicker cutlets than the head restaurant in Fukui City, with a slightly sweeter sauce.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
In Fukui Prefecture, it is common for sauce katsudon to be served when you order katsudon. Along with Echizen Oroshi Soba, it is regarded as one of the signature dishes of Fukui. Yoroppaken also serves dishes such as the 'Paris-don,' topped with minced meat cutlets (menchi katsu), and Western-style rice bowls have taken root in everyday life.
How It Differs from Home Cooking
At home, you can make it by frying thinly sliced pork in fine breadcrumbs and coating it while hot in a Worcestershire sauce-based sauce. At specialty shops, you can enjoy the differences in flavor handed down at each shop, such as secret sauces with added spices and the thickness of the cutlet.
Famous Shops
ヨーロッパ軒 総本店
福井県福井市順化1-7-4
The head restaurant of the Western-style eatery said to be the originator of sauce katsudon, about a ten-minute walk from JR Fukui Station. Its specialty is katsudon finished with a secret Worcestershire sauce-based sauce.
View details →敦賀ヨーロッパ軒 本店
福井県敦賀市相生町2-7
A long-established shop said to have opened in 1939 (Showa 14) as the first noren-wake branch. Its bowl is topped with three cutlets, and it is known for cutlets slightly thicker than those at the head restaurant and a sweeter sauce. Katsudon is from about 1,100 yen (tax included).
| Frozen Sauce Katsudon (Inoue Co., Ltd.) | A product that uses freezing technology to let you enjoy at home the sauce katsudon that is the most popular dish at a shop in Eiheiji Town. Released in 2023, it is from about 864 yen per serving. In addition to the shop and online shopping sites, it is also sold at michi-no-eki (roadside stations) in Fukui Prefecture.Where to buy →PR |
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FAQ
Q. What do you get when you order 'katsudon' in Fukui?
A. At many shops, you will be served sauce katsudon, which is not simmered with egg. Fukui Prefecture's tourism website also notes that, in Fukui, katsudon naturally means sauce katsudon. If you want katsudon simmered with egg, it is safest to check the menu description.